Trials of Expectations
by A Touch of Insanity
Summary: Albus Severus is nothing like his father, he just has to prove it. Scorpius has to uphold a reputation his family has spent years to earn, but old animosity lingers. The next generation certainly has a lot to live up to... Pairings up for grabs, really
1. Chapter 1

**Disclaimers: While I wish I was astoundingly brilliant, I am not J.K. Rowling nor do I own any of her characters, settings or anything of that nature. I simply borrow them for a little fun every now and then.**

**This chapter is very much only here thanks to the wondrous Petra Megami Assari, who is a marvelous beta! I love her. Like emo boys love skinny jeans. And other emo boys.**

Chapter 1: Albus Severus and the Nimbus 2000

Albus Severus pressed his face against the cool glass of the train window, hoping to alleviate his headache. The countryside was whizzing past, hills and trees disappearing in a blur of green. He favored focusing on a single tree or shrub and watching it zoom past, then finding another and repeating the process. It was calming, soothing even, to watch all that green, serving to both be a way to occupy his time and settle an uneasy stomach.

It was infinitely better than listening to James, the source of the throbbing headache, trying to scare Rose and he with horror stories of various pranks pulled on first years. Rose was cowering beside him, clutching onto his arm, which he thought was a bit of an overreaction. Her massively curly red hair made a sort of pillow between her head and his shoulder, though, so it wasn't too uncomfortable. He tried to ignore her nervous shaking before he started to do the same thing, out of pure fear of the Sorting. He liked Rose, though, he thought. She was much like his Aunt Hermione, brilliant, with very strong morals. He thought she might be a Gryffindor, maybe a Ravenclaw.

Houses were a bit of an obsession for him, due to the sinking feeling that he was not Gryffindor material, more of a Hufflepuff or Slytherin, really. He knew of all the Dark wizards that had come from the latter, and was a bit afraid, despite the fact that there hadn't been any Dark activity since his father went all heroic and saved everyone from Voldemort. And despite his two prospective houses being complete opposites - one producing greatness, the other producing the nameless, Albus Severus knew that he belonged to one of them, he just was unsure of which. He didn't think most of the time that he was much, quirkier than his family, but he dreamed of more. Much more than just a Muggle house and squabbling siblings and cousins.

"…and then they found him at the end of the term, still in the girls' first floor bathroom," whispered James in a voice he thought was quite terrifying.

More often than not, Albus Severus thought James was a right git, but he was git who sometimes knew what to say to play on a person's worst fears or strongest desires. He thought it was really just an unintentional blunder on his brother's part, but there had been a few times when a few strategic words had given birth to a distinct lump in his throat, one spawned from a feeling of inferiority. Despite his personality that reminded Albus Severus strongly of his Uncle Ron, James had much darker red hair than most of the Weasleys, more of a deep auburn, but it was straight like their dad's, though not nearly as messy, and he wore it long. He also had his mother's brown eyes and heavy smattering of freckles.

"Oh, shut it, James," barked Albus Severus, dearly wishing to be somewhere else. "You're giving me a headache."

Atticus, James' owl, was making a dreadful squawking noise from inside his cage, which wasn't helping. He didn't really like owls a whole lot. He preferred his two black hedgehogs, Hades and Cerberus. They were snuggled warmly inside the wide front pocket of his hoodie. He generally embraced Muggle culture, much like his father, who thought the idea of wearing robes everywhere was a bit ridiculous.

"Oh, mind your own business, Al. No one asked you."

"Don't call me 'Al'. I hate it when people call me that." Albus Severus rubbed his forehead. His head felt like his brain was trying to burst through his forehead. "I'm going to go put on my robes and uniform. We're almost there, I think." He stood on the seat and opened his trunk that was tucked away on the overhead shelf. He found his plain black robes and the uniform slacks, shirt, sweater, shoes and socks, then decided against the socks and shoes, preferring his charmed emerald Converses. He went to the bathroom to change, desperate to get out of the now-silent compartment.

The bathroom was very small, barely enough room for the toilet and sink, but he always felt most comfortable in small spaces. Looking in the mirror, Albus Severus adjusted the sleek, square black frames of his glasses. He hated how much he looked like his father. The same straight black hair that refused to stay tidy, the same piercing green eyes, the same pale, thin face. Only he was everything his father was not: awkward, introverted, cowardly. He knew that once the kids at Hogwarts realized just how unlike his father he was, they would laugh at him. If they didn't laugh at him for looking too much like The Boy Who Lived. The only thing he was missing was the lightning bolt scar on his forehead. That was a blessing, he thought. He changed quickly, folding his jeans, shirt, and hoodie when he was done, making sure to put his two hedge hogs in a pocket he magicked into the inside of his robes.

As he splashed water on his face, the door opened. He froze, realizing that he had, in fact, forgotten to lock the lavatory door. Thank goodness he hadn't been actually using the toilet or still changing. That would have been embarrassing. A very pale boy stood in the doorway, looking very surprised and uncomfortable. From his white-blond hair and aristocratic nose and cheekbones, Albus Severus knew exactly who the boy was: Scorpius Malfoy. And from the grim smirk that quickly formed on the other boy's face, he knew that he was recognized as well.

"Sorry, Potter." Albus Severus had no reply as Malfoy closed the door. He knew what his parents had told him of the Malfoys. Well, actually, his father hadn't said much, but from his expression as he spat the word "pure-blood", he knew that there was an unresolved issue between them and his father. And so it would probably not be the best idea to be nice. He didn't like the Malfoy boy already, simply because of his father's bitterness towards them, but he hated doing things because his father did them. Being reminded of the uncanny resemblance was the last thing he wanted.

He shivered, hoping that the nervous chills that ran down his spine would go away. Hogwarts was making him nervous already and he wasn't even there yet. He checked the little swatch of fabric that he had magicked into the inside of his robes, scarlet and gold, to give him some sort of hope. It was all that he wanted: to be in Gryffindor, to hold up the family tradition. His entire family was all in Gryffindor at one time or another, even James and Teddy, and all he wanted was to continue the family tradition. But he didn't think he was brave enough, like his father, mother, Aunt Hermione, Uncle Ron, Teddy, James, and the Delacour-Weasleys, even though Louis, the youngest, was in his year and would most likely carry the tradition. He was nothing like them. When they all tried out his father's old Firebolt, Albus Severus was too afraid to even come within ten feet of it, let alone leave the ground. James had taken a flight around the house. Even Lily had hovered in the air for a few seconds, despite being seven at the time. Albus Severus had merely clung to his mother. All he wanted was to not embarrass his parents, to live up to their legacy, but he doubted that would happen.

Back in the compartment with his brother and cousin, Albus Severus found that both of his compartment mates had already dressed in their school robes and uniforms, James' with a tiny house crest where a breast pocket would be on both the sweater and robes. He longed for a matching scarlet and gold crest to be magicked on after his Sorting. He would wear it with pride down those long-sought-after hallways. He would be a role model. The Gryffindor prefect, perhaps Head Boy, even. He would make his parents, his father, proud of their youngest son. That was his little daydream, what he let his mind wander over as he sat in his window seat, watching the English countryside passing by. But he knew deep down that it would never happen. The Sorting Hat would not take his choice into consideration; he was not The Boy Who Lived.

He realized he had dozed off when he felt someone shaking his shoulder gently. "Al, wake up," Rose said.

"Don't call me Al. That's what mum and dad call me, and I hate it."

"I know, I know. Just get up. The train's stopped," Rose sighed.

"Alright already." He stood and pulled down his large trunk, groaning as his slightly stiff muscles protested the effort. He lugged it behind him, jerking it through the narrow aisle of the Hogwarts Express with more difficulty than he'd like to admit. He got off the train and was awed by the vast size of the castle. It was much larger than he expected, the stony towers seeming to scrape the bottom of the sky. It was late sunset by now, the sky exploding in a startling array of warm colors behind the castle, making it look like it was on fire. It was stunning, the effect, giving the school a look more magical than it already had. But Albus Severus' view was obscured by a quickly approaching, hulking mass. The mass picked him up in a very tight bear hug that threatened to squeeze the very life out of him. He tried to yell, but the pressure on his ribs prevented any air from passing his lips. Just before his vision went black from lack of oxygen, the large, slightly odorous mass put him back down on his feet. Once freed, he recognized the mass immediately from several memorable summer visits.

"You mus't be little Albus Severus! You look so much like yer Da', I though' it was little Harry the first year! Oh! And James and little Rosie! C'mere all of yer! Giv ol' Hagrid a hug!" And with that, they were all smothered in Hagrid's suffocating embrace again. When he let them all go, James greeted him warmly, reminiscing on occurrences from the year before. Hagrid then left to greet other students as James took Atticus and went with all of his second year friends, and Rose and Albus Severus climbed into a row boat to cross the Lake. The lights in the windows of the castle were like oversized stars beckoning them. Albus Severus was looking at the reflection of the windows in the rippled surface of the lake when he stiffened. There was a hedgehog in his slacks. And it was tickling his leg. In a very awkward maneuver, he reached under his robes and fumbled with his pants until he found the offending hedgehog. He snuggled it to his chest whispering words of comfort to the warm, wriggling creature. He did not imagine that in his pants were a pleasant place to be. Rose noticed his fond cuddling of Hades.

"Oh. My. God. Albus, tell me you did not bring Hades and Cerberus. Those can't be allowed! The list said only cats, toads, and owls! You're going to be expelled!"

"I'm not going to be expelled," he muttered, secretly afraid that he might be, but only because they would all realize how inferior he was.

"Yes, you are. After what happened with Scabbers and my dad back in the day, they don't allow small animals like that. Ever. You're going to be expelled."

Albus Severus coddled Hades, trying to ignore the sense in what she said. The poor little thing was frightened of its new surroundings. He found Cerberus as well, and cooed encouraging words to them, trying to help them ease into the new place. He was just as afraid as his hedgehogs, though. He was dreadfully frightened of the possibility of being a Slytherin. And being a Hufflepuff, while it wouldn't be nearly as scandalous as being a Slytherin, would still be shameful. He was shaking in his boots. Metaphorical boots. He had left his Doc Martens at home, thinking they were inappropriate for a wizarding school, especially one that would definitely not know of obscure Muggle fashions. Even so, he hoped they wouldn't think his Converses were too strange especially since he had charmed them to turn whatever color he wanted them to be, whenever he wanted. He liked doing simple magic like that, because he was too afraid of being found out if he attempted anything bigger, so he kept it basic, trying not to do anything noticeable. But he was planning on seeing what he could do once at Hogwarts.

Standing before the great wooden doors with Rose, Albus Severus became even more nervous than before. It looked so imposing. But inside, the Great Hall was warm and soothing enough to calm his nerves a little. The first years all poured into the center of the room while all of the other students were already at their respective house tables. Albus Severus saw Victoire off at the Gryffindor table, along with Dominique, the former a sixth year, and the latter a third year, and sitting a little bit away from them were Molly and Lucy, though he didn't know them very well. The Delacour-Weasleys, including Louis, all shared the shimmering blonde hair and sky blue eyes that they inherited from their Veela ancestor, but their hair had a very slight strawberry tint, due to those stubborn Weasley genes.

Rose slid her hand inside Albus Severus', trying to give him some sort of comfort when she realized that he was shaking. She wasn't actually too afraid of the sorting, but more of what would come afterwards, he thought, but he knew that she figured that she would do very well in her classes. They were up near the front, so they could see the faculty table very clearly. They spotted Professor Longbottom, who was whispering to the headmaster, someone they recognized from old photographs of their parents: it was Luna Scamander-Lovegood, or, to be more correct, Professor Lovegood. She looked a lot less spacey than in her photograph, Albus Severus noticed. He also saw Hagrid. The other professors were completely foreign to him. But then Professor Lovegood tapped her goblet with her knife, letting out a loud, clear ring that was most definitely enhanced by magic, and the room went silent.

"Greetings to all our students, both first years and those who have come back after the summer. I hope all of you had a pleasant time, and I would like to welcome everyone back for this year." The hall erupted in loud applause. "Quiet down, quiet down. We now have to commence the sorting of the first years, then we will eat. Would Professor Chang please call out the first years to be sorted?" A slender woman with long, straight black hair came around from the other side of the table and walked towards the first years with a piece of parchment. The Sorting Hat was sitting on a stool a bit in front of the faculty table. It was much uglier than Albus Severus had imagined. But that hat made him increasingly more fearful. The feeling of worms crawling in his gut was overwhelming. He had the distinct feeling that he would be pass out, but tried to dismiss it. Professor Chang held up the piece of parchment and called out the first name. A thin, frightened looking girl went up and sat on the stool, placing the Sorting Hat on her head. After a short moment, the seam at the brim opened up like a mouth and shouted the word "Ravenclaw". The girl smiled a little as the Ravenclaw crest appeared on her robes and went over to join her house table, where the students were all cheering very loudly. The sorting went on as such, with cheering tables and relieved students. Until one oddity.


	2. Chapter 2

**So, this was originally part of Chapter One, but I realized that not only is it hard to read things with freakishly long paragraphs, but it's hard to read 6000 word chapters. So, it has been shortened. I own nothing except my love of Rowling's work and my infinite gratitude for Petra, who makes my day withe her awesome beta-ness.**

Albus Severus and the Gross Hat That Hates Him

They were in the M's now, and Albus Seveus knew that he'd be sorted soon. But now it was Scorpius Malfoy's turn. He sat on the little stool and confidently placed the hat on his head, obviously expecting a quick, already-guessed answer. After several moments of thought, during which the boy's expression faded from arrogance to horror, a single word rang out in the Great Hall: Gryffindor.

A few students at the Slytherin table began cheering, then realized that they were not receiving the boy and promptly shut it. The Gryffindor table let out a collective gasp, then, after a few brief moments of hesitation, cheered much too loudly, as if to make up for their lack of applause before. But the boy looked positively miserable with his Gryffindor crest as he walked over to the very end of the Gryffindor table and sat down, trying to distance himself from the others, a glimmering tear barely noticeable on his cheek.

Only a few more names were called before the P's were reached. Albus Severus was shivering, the unfortunate placement of the Malfoy boy worrying him. If someone from an entire pureblood family of Slytherins could be a Gryffindor, then there was nothing preventing him from being a Slytherin. Not a single bloody thing. He was a coward, and knew that he would be sorted as such. But his name was called, bringing his fate upon him much too quickly, at least in his opinion. Terrified, he placed the floppy hat on his head and tried to hide his fear as stoically as possible.

"Ah. The second Potter boy. I was expecting you. But let's see where to put you…I'm thinking Hufflepuff. Better yet, Slytherin."

"No! Please, not Slytherin! I'll do anything!"

"I'm sorry, I don't take requests. And many brilliant wizards have come out of Slytherin. Stop whining. You should be proud. SLYTHERIN!" The Great Hall fell into silence. Albus Severus could see his brother, Rose, and his other cousins all staring in shock and disbelief. The Slytherin table began a very quiet, unenthusiastic cheer as he saw the tiny silver and emerald crest stitch itself on his robes. His father had lied. Or maybe he hadn't, and the Sorting Hat just liked the famous Harry Potter so much that he took his request into consideration. Either way, he was doomed, he thought, as he sat on the very end of his new house table, trying to be separate from the house that didn't seem to want him in the slightest.

He looked across the room and found Scorpius Malfoy in a similar position: head in hands with a completely depressed expression, though no longer crying. He wanted to trade with the boy. Just trade houses, right the terrible wrong that had just occurred. He was supposed to be a Gryffindor, just like everyone else in his family. They would hate him now. Hate him forever. His dad said they wouldn't, but he didn't actually think it was possible that his own son could be a Slytherin. It was shameful. He was a coward, for all to see, and there was nothing he could do about it as he watched his cousin go to the Gryffindor table to the sound of loud applause. All he had now was his two hedgehogs, no family; they wouldn't want him anymore. For seven years.

After the feast, the Slytherin prefect, Alexander Pierce, led all the new first years to the dungeon. He was explaining that the Slytherin dormitories were behind a bare patch of stone wall, and located underneath the Lake. He informed them that the password for the moment was "Villefort", and, upon speaking it, the stones formed themselves into an elaborate archway. Despite his reluctance to be a Slytherin, Albus Severus found the Slytherin Common Room strangely comforting.

The long, low room lit with fireplaces and green lamps felt warm and cozy. He longed to sit in one of the cushy armchairs, the emerald upholstery luring him with its softness. He went with the other male first years to their level of the boys dormitory. They were all under the Lake, seven levels, each level split in two for boys and girls, and the door for each gender led to the dormitory that the person's year indicated, and only that one, unless accompanied by someone in another year, in which case the two would go to the dorm that was of the year of the person who physically opened the door. And, of course, as was the rule for all the houses, girls could enter the boys' dorms, but boys could not enter the girls' dorms.

Albus Severus went in and found the bed his trunk had been placed under by house elves or magic, he wasn't sure which. The best thing, he thought, about being a Slytherin was the color green being on practically everything. He reached into his trunk and placed his clothes in the dresser at the foot of his curtained four-poster bed, and set up a little nest for Hades and Cerberus, and made sure to put his favorite books, iPod, and speakers in the drawer in the bedside table, though he was worried about the lack of electricity.

He loved his iPod, which he had charmed to be a sort of mood ring, changing colors, and even changing songs to what ever he was in the mood for. It was originally a gift from his father, who had given him many Muggle things, but he was afraid that other kids at school would think he was weird for having them, so he kept only the necessities. Even so, putting his magic-enhanced headphones in his ears, he went into the Common Room. After sitting down, he saw the brown hair of Alexander sticking up from the top of one of the chairs. He went over to him, already forming the question in his brain.

"Yes?" the older boy asked, looking up from a book. He didn't seem to appreciate being approached by a first year, especially not the offspring of Harry Potter.

"Sorry, I just have a question to ask you. Ummm, is there anyway to switch houses? I just-I… just don't really belong here."

"You don't think you belong? Let me tell you this: when I was a first year, I didn't think that I should have been a Slytherin either. I thought that I would make a rather brilliant Ravenclaw. But after a while, I realized that Slytherin was a good place for me. Because I found that I actually had some of the traits that were very Slytherin in nature. It's not just dark wizards that come from our house; some very famous, porwerful witches and wizards were created in Slytherin. And if the Sorting Hat said that you belong here then you do.

"You may not realize it yet, but we are your family, and this is a sort of home, or it will be for the next seven years. Besides, a lot of the talk about Slytherin is from the old days, back when there actually were evil wizards. Now, we just excel because we have what the others do not: ambition to achieve greatness. It's a sort of advantage over the other houses. You just have to use it wisely." With that, Alexander returned to his book, leaving Albus Severus standing there feeling very awkward.

He went back to his chair and curled his legs up in it, trying to focus on his music, though his iPod was a muddy blue-green, sensing his confusion, and playing a very frenzied sort of song. But he knew that Alexander was right. He had ambition. He had always been ambitious, thinking that one day he would amount to something far greater than his siblings and cousins. And he was the sort of resourceful and had the sort of cunning that made him a perfect Slytherin. He just didn't want to see it.

But it was becoming part of him now. He knew that there was no way he could change houses. This would just be a new phase of his life. And, he decided, he would make the best of it. Starting with his name. He really hated the name Albus. It sounded so wrong to him, and he especially hated it when people shortened it to Al. Even when it was his parents calling him by it. So he decided just to drop Albus completely. Severus was much more interesting, in any case, he decided, and much more Slytherin. But he was growing tired. Resting his head on the arm of the chair, he dozed by the fire.

_He fell into the potions classroom, recognizing it despite never having been in there before. He felt himself occupying someone else's mind, feeling their thoughts as if they were his own. Thoughts that were focused on two people: a red haired girl and a black haired boy._

_The eyes that he saw through were staring at them, watching as the boy helped the girl with chopping up an ingredient, watching her blush when their hands touched. The other person's mind was filled with hate for the boy, and a very strong sort of love for the girl. To Severus, the two looked very familiar. It took him a second to realize that they looked a bit like his brother and sister and his mother and father. His hands poured a final ingredient into the cauldron, the contents of which turned a sparkling crimson. They jotted a quick note in the book on potions next to him as a slightly greasy strand of black hair swung into his face._

"_Severus, have you finished already? That memory potion looks fantastic!" complimented the professor, a portly man with a slightly mussed appearance. Severus jumped at the sound of his own name, but he felt someone else's voice answering._

"_Yes, Professor Slughorn. Thank you. May I clean up now?" The professor nodded, and the boy picked up the cauldron and took it to the back of the room to pour out the contents. On his way there, a foot tripped him, sending him sprawling across the floor, the cauldron spilling everywhere._

"_Watch your step, Snivellus," sneered the black haired boy. The girl looked at him with pity, but did nothing to stop the boy from taunting him further. "Looks like you had a bit of an accident. You might want to clean that up." The boy pushed himself to his feet and picked up the cauldron, placing it in the back before cleaning up the mess with a spell._

"_At least I know how to make a decent memory potion, Potter," he said to the black haired boy, whose potion was shooting out green sparks in a rather vicious manner._

"_Shut your face, Snivellus. Or is your big nose in the way of that?"_

"_Stuff it, Potter. Have a nice day, Lily."_

"_Don't talk to me, Severus. You gave up that right when you called me a Mudblood." The red haired girl looked fiercely angry, that much was obvious. But the boy who shared a name with Severus only felt sad as he walked away from her and back to his seat before gathering his books and leaving the classroom alone._

Severus awoke to someone shaking him by the shoulder. It was Alexander.

"It's really late. You might want to go to bed, or you'll be sore in the morning." Severus stood with a groan. His left foot was numb from sleeping on it. But his dream struck him as odd, especially since he could remember all of it. That was something he wasn't used to. But more importantly, the boy in his dream had been named Severus, like him. It was strange that he had seen that boy who looked like his brother, and that girl who shared a name with his sister.

They had looked similar to his siblings, but not exactly. The boy, for instance, had been wearing glasses, and he had no freckles, his hair much darker than his brother's, but the facial structure was similar. And the girl had straighter hair that his sister, brighter green eyes. Although, the boy looked very much like his father, only younger, probably around the age of 16, but not as much like Severus himself, in a odd sort of way. Where his father had gentle curves and timid features, this other boy had rough edges and arrogance. It was odd, he decided as he snuggled down under the covers of his bed and let sleep overtake him once more.

The next morning, Severus went down to the Great Hall for breakfast. He chose to sit with the other first years this time, accepting that he was going to have to make friends with these other students since they would be in the same school and house for the next seven years. The girl next to him turned to him with a mouth full of toast.

"So, are you really the son of Harry Potter?" she asked, cocking her head to one side. She had long, ash blond hair that had deep green streaks in it. Her eyes were large and bright hazel, betraying her curiosity and something the smallest bit malignant. But, she was in Slytherin.

He groaned inwardly. "Yes." He did not want to be asked about his father, or any of his family.

"Really? Then why are you here, if you don't mind me asking? Shouldn't you be over there?" She nodded her head towards the Gryffindor table.

"Not according to the Sorting Hat. I think I'm a Slytherin, in any case. I'm not really like my family, at least."

"Oh. That's cool. I'm nothing like my parents. Well, kind of. My mum was a Slytherin. But my dad was in Gryffindor. I just kind of ended up here. What's your name, anyway?"

"Severus. Well, Albus Severus, but I hate the name Albus. And Al. And Bus. And every other variation of Albus."


	3. Chapter 3

**I do not own the brilliance of Jo. Or that of Petra, who I admire and thank immensely. **

Severus Potter and His Irrational Fear of...Things

"I would too. It sounds fat. I'm Evangeline, by the way. Evangeline MacLagen. But if you call me anything other than Eva, I'll kill you. Slowly. Anyway, do you hate your parents or something? Or do they hate you? I'm sensing some hostility directed at your parental unit."

"What? No! I don't hate parents. They might hate me, but I can't be sure. Actually, they probably do. But it could always be worse. I could be Scorpius Malfoy. His dad must be so pissed."

"Yeah, I bet. I definitely don't envy him. Awww, look at the poor thing, sitting all by himself!" She pointed over to the end of the Gryffindor table where the Malfoy boy was completely separated from everyone else, but it seemed to be by choice. "Well, hopefully he'll find friends." A minute or two later, everyone's plates disappeared, replaced with a sheet of parchment. After giving it a quick glance, Severus realized that it was their timetable for the year.

_Monday_

_Potions (Slytherin/Griffindor) – Dungeons, Professor Zambini_

_Flying (Slytherin/Gryffindor) – Quidditch Pitch, Professor Wood_

_Independent Study (first two weeks only) – House Common Room or Library_

_Double Herbology (Slythering/Hufflepuff)(starting week 3) – Greenhouse, Professor Longbottom_

_Tuesday_

_Transfigurations (Gryffindor/Slytherin) – Third Floor, Professor Chang_

_Charms (All) – Third Floor, Professor Flitwick_

_Double Defense Against the Dark Arts (Gryffindor/Slytherin) – First Floor, Professor Snape_

_Wednesday_

_History of Magic (All) – First Floor, Professor Binns_

_Care of Magical Creatures (All) – Hagrid's Hut, Professor Hagrid_

_Transfigurations_

_Potions_

_Thursday_

_Defense Against the Dark Arts_

_Flying_

_Herbology_

_Charms_

_Friday_

_Transfigurations_

_Potions_

_Double Defense or Independent Study in Library or Common Room_

_Saturday_

_Astronomy(Optional) – Astronomy Tower at Midnight, Professor Sinistra_

Severus frowned. It seemed that whoever made the schedules enjoyed pairing Slytherin and Gryffindor together for most classes, despite that they were notorious for disliking each other. He wasn't too happy about having flying classes twice a week, either, but he would find a way to skip it or some other solution. But the other classes seemed fine, except for Herbology, which just sounded boring. And he was maybe a little worried about Care of Magical Creatures, from what his father and Uncle Ron had said about it. But he would make use of the Library on Fridays, unless D.A.D.A. was any good, which he doubted. There was hardly any point to the class anymore.

It was in potions class that day, which they had with Gryffindor, that Severus realized that Eva meant for them to be friends with Scorpius. She had decided already that "Sev" was her best friend, whether or not he was fine with that he wasn't sure of. But Severus wasn't so sure about the Malfoy boy. Not sure at all. His instinct was to hate him with a passion, so when Eva sat them down with the quiet, haughty boy, he was worried.

"Hey. How are you? I'm Eva, and this is Sev and-"

"Severus."

"Whatever. Don't mind him. Anyway, we're going to be your friends." The pale blond boy looked at both of them, making sure to glare at Severus, a glare that he felt deep in his bones, probably because it conveyed the same feelings of instinctual loathing that he felt towards the boy.

"Go away. I don't want you two here." He spoke slowly, Severus noticed, as if that was all they'd understand.

"Nope. Unless you have some other friends, we'll be sitting with you. And, honestly, you need friends." Eva sat down. "Oh, and don't worry; our parents hate us, too. I mean, Evangeline Imogene? What the hell were my parents thinking when they named me?" Severus and Scorpius both snorted.

"It could be worse! You could be named after headmasters, one of which who killed the other. Talk about weird and confusing," Severus groaned.

"Yeah, well, my parents had no excuse! Weird names just run in the family!" Scorpius grimaced, his face showing that he was thinking of all the names in his family and their oddness, then realizing that his was the worst of the bunch.

"At least your parents probably know that they gave you a strange name. My dad thinks it's an honor to have two bizarre first names from people who are dead."

"Yeah. I think my parents hate me. And not just because they named me after a star. But when my dad finds out that I'm a Gryffindor? I'm as good as dead."

"I'd rather my parents hate me openly, like with you, than just silently hate me forever. I mean, my dad hates Slytherins, I could tell. He always talked about how horrible they were, and how they were all evil. I'm so going to be disowned."

"Thanks. Really. In any case, my father hates your father, so he's going to kill me for being a Gryffindor. I hate Hogwarts. Actually, I would be fine if it wasn't for you and your family. It's all your dad's fault for this stupid Gryffindor thing."

"Hey! My dad saved your dad! Yours was the evil one! Show some respect!"

"I'll show you 'respect'!" In a second, Scorpius had his wand out and pointed at Severus, who had also pulled out his own wand.

"Boys! Put down your wands before you hurt yourselves! You're being so immature! Honestly, you'd think you two were five…and you weren't even a thought when your dads hated each other, so get off it." They both bowed their heads in shame and put their wands back in their robes.

"Whatever. I still hate you," hissed Scorpius.

"The feeling's mutual," retorted Severus with a sharp glare. The professor, Professor Zambini, began a long and boring lecture about the proper care and maintenance of cauldrons during which the two boys continued giving each other hateful looks. Eva rolled her eyes at them and tried to pay attention. They didn't actually get to making any potions, much to Severus' disappointment, who was excited to try his hand at the very Slytherin skill. It was a very boring potions class.

The three walked down the long halls and out to a grassy area near the lake, the two boys bickering. Severus was only really talking to Scorpius at all because he was dreadfully nervous about their flying lesson. Being from a family of talented Quidditch players, he was worried that his fear of brooms might interfere with any potential for success in that category. He saw all of the Slytherin and Gryffindor students lined up next to school brooms, relics from back when his parents were in school. Severus stood next to his ancient Nimbus 2000 and tried to slow down his breathing. Anxiety was making him sweat nervously, narrowing his vision so that all he could see was that blasted broom.

"Sev, you okay? You're really pale." He didn't answer, just focused on not hyperventilating. His head was swimming dangerously and he felt his stomach forcefully plummet. "Do you want me to get Professor Wood?" He saw Eva looking around concernedly for Professor Wood, a retired Quidditch player who was teaching their flying lesson. He appeared, standing in the middle of the two rows of students.

"Students, today we begin your first lesson on flying. Now, I know that some of you have flown brooms at home, but this class is mandatory, as is your full participation. Now, I want everyone to stand with their wand arm raised above the broom. Now say 'up'." The kids all obeyed, but Severus was left standing there, paralyzed by fear.

He was shaking uncontrollably, trying his best not to throw up or pass out or have some sort of seizure. After watching to make sure all the students were doing fine, Professor Wood walked over to Severus. Professor Wood was concerned. "Are you okay? I know you're Potter's boy, but it's okay. There's no pressure on you to be a seeker. We just need to make sure you can fly, for safety reasons and all that." Severus gave what he thought was a nod, but ended up looking something like a spasm. Despite a very intense effort, Severus could not move his lips and tongue to say 'up'. He gave up on trying to speak, and just thought the word over and over. Up, up, up. The broom wobbled a tiny bit, and Severus fainted.

He was on a broom flying around, but this time there was no trace of fear. His hair was blowing in the breeze as he flew around in circles above the lake. He swooped down to the edge and hovered near a red haired girl who was working on something in a book.

"_Hey, Lily. Wanna go for a ride?"_

"_Piss off, Potter. I'm busy." She rolled her eyes at him._

"_Come on, Evans. I promise I won't go too fast."_

_She groaned. "Potter, the only thing you could do on a broom that would interest me is to fly at a brick wall at full speed."_

"_Ouch. That really hurt. But seriously, Evans. Tear yourself away from your books for a few minutes and have some fun."_

"_As much as I would like to hurt you right now, I really need to finish this work for Arithmancy. Go away, Potter. Bother someone else for a change."_

"_Oh, I know just the person." He looked over at a boy with greasy black hair who was hunched over a textbook. "Snivellus looks rather lonely. I think he needs some company." He started over to the other boy with a wicked grin._

"_Potter, leave Severus alone. He wouldn't hate you so much if you wouldn't bother him all the time."_

"_Oh, Lily. You're so oblivious."_

"_Oblivious?"_

"_Can't you see? It's so obvious! He fancies you. And he thinks that I'm a threat. I wonder what would give him that impression…"_

"_James, please just leave him alone. He won't do you any harm. Just fly off to your little friends." She jerked her head at a group of three boys, a short, chubby one watching as the other two rolled around in some sort of a tussle._

"_Fine. But you owe me, Lily. And one day, when you least expect it, I'll remind you." He flew off, and Severus was aware that that boy was a bit of a toe rag._

Severus awoke in the Hospital Wing in a white-sheeted bed. His head ached slightly, but that was the least of his worries. Eva was staring at him curiously, sitting in a chair by his bed. Scorpius was sitting on the floor with his back against Severus' bed, tapping his fingers as if he really didn't want to be there, but was forced into it.

"There you are, Sleeping Beauty. That was quite an episode there," Eva teased. Severus turned bright red in embarrassment. He hated fainting, especially in front of people.

"Sorry. I really hate brooms." Scorpius stuck his head up.

"You're a broomaphobe? How ironic."

"Shut it, Malfoy."

**Ah, the beginning of many, many more "Shut it, Malfoy"'s...Because it would be weird if they actually were buddy-buddy right off the bat. But we love them and not just because of their initials. Although, that should be ASSH. ASSH really isn't as fun, though. And only a Malfoy would come up with "Hyperion". **

**By the way, our dear enemy-offspring really love feedback...nudge-nudge.  
**


	4. Chapter 4

**Disclaimer: Sadly, I own nothing. Well, except for my OC's. But the brilliance is all J.K. Rowling's. And some of it is Ministry of Magic's. Only a couple borrowed bits. Their song "The Bravest Man I Ever Knew" is amazing.  
**

**Much thanks to Petra Megami Assari for beta reading this!**

Chapter 2: Albus Severus and the iPod of AwesomeSongs and Whatnot

Severus really loved sheets. The deep emerald silk cocoon was nearly impossible for him to leave, and when he finally managed to pull himself out of bed, he could have sworn that the sheets were trying to pull him back. He dressed quickly, tugging on his black skinny jeans and putting on his glasses, not really caring about the mandatory Hogwarts slacks. He didn't even bother touching his messy hair before going to the Great Hall for breakfast. Eva was chatting animatedly with her cat, Violet, named on account of its unusual hue. He sat down beside her, shoving a piece of toast in his mouth. Chewing thoughtfully, he raised an eyebrow at what Eva was telling the feline.

"…yes, yes, I know he's a broomophobe and looks like his father, but that's no reason to want to kill him…no, really, he isn't that much of a freak…most of the time…"

"Should I be worried?"

"Yep. Violet here doesn't seem to like you. At all. And she has killed before. As in, small children have gone missing. But I'll try to protect you."

"Ummm. Thanks, I think." He looked over to where Scorpius was sitting at the Gryffindor table. But, unlike last time, he wasn't sitting alone. Rose was sitting next to him, talking almost nonstop. He looked slightly annoyed, but relieved at the company. "Hey, look. My cousin's talking to Scorpius."

"That's your cousin? She doesn't look a bit like you. Not a single bit."

"Well, she's more of a blend of her parents, and I look like my dad, who isn't blood related to either of them. My little sister looks a little more like her, just not with that frizzy hair," Severus explained.

"Oh. That's nice. Actually, I don't really care. Is she alright, though? Nice, I mean? Cos she sure seems to be attached to Scor."

"Yeah, I mean, I guess so. She's nice. Bit of a smarty pants. Really good with spells and stuff. Reads way more than is healthy. But alright, I suppose."

"That's good. Hey, would you mind if I just…" She turned to him and raised her wand at his head, then muttered a spell. He felt his hair move itself.

"What the bloody hell did you just do?" She rolled her eyes and put a quick spell on her glass of water, holding it up to him, the surface like a mirror. His hair was in short spikes with deep green bits, poking forward like something dangerous. He patted it carefully, amazed at how it was in an actual shape. He actually rather liked it, despite how different it was from how it normally sat. He was feeling the spikes when a flurry of owls filled the room, dropping parcels and letters on the tables. After a minute or two, Atticus, James' owl, dropped a letter on the plate in front of him. The address was in his dad's handwriting. He opened grimly, remembering that he had chosen not to write the day before.

_Dear Al,_

_Look, we heard from Uncle Ron and Aunt 'Mione about the Sorting. And James. But, look, don't worry about it. See, I gave you your name for a reason, to show you that you can always change, no matter the mistakes you've made. Your house doesn't mean anything. The man from who you got your name was a Slytherin, and I hated him from my first year, and when I found that he was a Death Eater, I wasn't the least bit surprised. _

_It wasn't until he died that I learned how great he was. You see, when he went to Hogwarts, and even before, he loved my mother, Lily, even though it went against everything his parents had taught him about Muggleborns. So, when my father, James, expressed an interest this girl, he hated him with a passion. When I was young, I thought that he deserved it, that my father was in the right about him. So when I learned that this Slytherin had told Voldemort about my parents and me, I thought that he was just plain evil. But Voldemort had promised him that Lily wouldn't be harmed, so when my mother was murdered, he switched sides. _

_Even fifteen years after my mother's death, after she had married the man he hated, this Slytherin still loved her; even his Patronus was a doe, to match hers. He died for me, for my mother, for the good cause, letting himself be hated by both the good and bad sides just to protect me for her. He was the bravest man I ever knew. You make your own way, your own choices, and no one can change that. You just have to decide. Will goodness be the banner you raise? Or will you pick the other side? The last thing that Severus Snape saw was my eyes, my mother's eyes, and the last thing he did was save my life. He died for the just cause. Don't forget that._

_Dad_

The letter was not what he expected, but, then again, it was pretty much the biggest guilt trip he had ever read. Severus doubted that it was in any way true, just his dad trying to make him think he was a hero, which he wasn't. In fact, heroic would not be a word used to describe him, ever. And he hated the letter. His dad thought he was supposed to be in Gryffindor, that it really was a mistake, and was trying to convince him of that. He would be so disappointed if he knew just how much he was a Slytherin. His father would just be ashamed of him. He had said that it wouldn't matter, but he knew it did. He didn't even care enough to say "Love, Dad" to at least pretend he really cared.

With a grimace, Severus ripped the letter into pieces. He wasn't at all what his parents wanted, and he would never meet their expectations. He might as well give up on trying, he figured. He would reply to the letter, but it would be a very short reply, a request not to receive any more letters, and that he would not be coming home for the holidays. He couldn't take knowing that he had let his parents down.

"What's wrong, Sev? Bad news from home?"

"No. It's nothing. Nothing at all. I'm just disowning my parents before they disown me."

"That's a bit dramatic. And probably really stupid. But, have fun with it."

"Thanks. You really are a load of help."

"You're welcome, Sevvy. Hmmm… Sevvy…I like that! That is now your name!"

"Great," he said, using that famous Slytherin Sarcasm.

The first class for Severus was Transfiguration. Severus and Eva spent the class sitting next to Rose and Scorpius, which was becoming a bit of a routine with them. Their professor was Professor Chang, who he thought was a bit too nice. She gave them a long introduction to the class, informing them that they would be taking it for the next seven years. She then instructed them to turn the thumbtacks in front of them into spiders while she walked around to see how they all took to transfiguration. Rose took out her wand delicately.

"_Araneos,_" she said with a smug little smile. The thumbtack turned into a tiny spider that scurried away across the table.

"Well done, Miss Weasley! You seem to take after your mother," commented Chang, smiling warmly.

"Thank you, Professor Chang." Severus rolled his eyes. He raised his wand, trying to be as nonchalant and cool as possible. Pretending to be looking out of the window like he was bored, he spoke the spell. There was a very soft scream. It took him a second to realize that it was Eva.

"What?" She was pale and mumbling, eyes very wide. She didn't answer him, just pointed. He looked in the direction of her outstretched finger and gasped. Where Chang's desk used to be was a very, very large spider, roughly the size of the desk that it had once been. It had very long, hairy legs, its eight eyes glinting wickedly. Severus choked.

"Professor Chang!" he called, eyes darting back and forth from the spider to the professor, who was further down the row helping a student. Her head snapped to him. "The-the spell! It-it…your desk!" She grinned, and, without looking at it, pointed her wand at the desk, mouthing a counter-spell. The ghastly arachnid turned back into a desk.

"Did you do that?" she asked levelly, a slight twinkle in her light brown eyes.

"Uh…maybe?" She laughed and he relaxed.

"That was good. It takes a lot more skill to turn a large object into something else than a small object. Your father never really was the best at Transfigurations, if I remember correctly. He wasn't bad, just average, and your mother was decent, but not brilliant. I'm surprised you were that good. Usually magical ability is inherited."

"Ummm…thanks?" She laughed again.

"Just try not to turn any other furniture into spiders, if you don't mind. Ten points for Gr-Slytherin." She smiled again and went to help the row behind him. Severus looked over at Eva, who'd calmed down by now and gave him an impressed raise of her eyebrows. Scorpius glared at him. He spelled his thumbtack so fiercely, he left scorch marks on the table.

"Toerag," he spat, glaring with very obvious venom. Severus looked away uncomfortably, mildly afraid of the hate-filled silver eyes. Rose smiled and complimented him, tucking frizzy red curls into a ponytail.

"I'm not a toerag. I'm just better than you." Severus really couldn't resist that comment, but immediately regretted it when he found the business end of a wand inches from his face.

"Say that again, Potter. I dare you."

"Malfoy, it's not as if you know what the bloody hell you're doing. The worst you could probably do is turn my eyebrows purple."

"Shut it, Potter, or I swear I'll hurt you in ways you never imagined. You see, having a former Death Eater for a grandfather gives you knowledge of certain curses that might otherwise be unavailable. And I know how to use them," he sneered. Severus wouldn't admit it, but he was slightly afraid that Scorpius was telling the truth.

"Scorpius Hyperion Malfoy, if you don't put that wand down this instant, I'm sending you to Professor Lovegood. Ten points from Slyth-I mean, Gryffindor." Glancing up at Chang, he lowered his wand, sending a very clear messages of hate to Severus with his eyes. Chang walked away with an almost imperceptible roll of the eyes.

"Hyperion? Really? That's seriously your middle name? That's kinda cool. I shall call you 'Perry'!" Eva declared. The two boys glared at her.

"Could you guys get off your little vocal rampage and shut it? I can't focus," said Rose, who had now amassed a small collection of thumbtacks and was practicing the spell. They all looked down shamefully.

"Per-Per? I think I like that better than Perry. You're Per-Per. Per-Per and Sevvy. I think I like these weird names your parents came up with!"

"If you don't shut it, I'm calling you 'Imo' for the rest of our lives."

"Fine, Sevvy. I guess that's how you want to play. I'll stop. A little."

"You can't stop 'a little'. That's impossible," muttered Rose.

Eva bit her lip. "So you're on their side? I guess I can't call you Rosewater Tapestry, then."

**Inside jokes are the best. Like Rosewater Tapestry. And Hyperbole Onomotopeia. Which are both names, by the way, but let's just not go there... Althoug one place you might want to go is to that little button right below this...**


	5. Chapter 5

**As much as I love J.K. Rowling, that doesn't change that I am not her and therefore do not own her characters and all that magical stuff. This chapter was made possible by readers like you...okay, so, looking past the PBS rip-off, that's true. Readers like you...and Petra. Who rocks my socks.**

Severus Potter and the Baby-Namers From Hell

"_Rosewater Tapestry_?" Rose was giving her look that conveyed a very suitable mixture of shock and disgust.

"Well, I figured that Rose had to be short for something. Considering these two and myself, Rosewater Tapestry was a possibility."

"Yeah, only no one's weird enough to name their child after a wall hanging. My parents, well, my mum mostly, had enough sense not to name her children in such a way that they'd be made fun of for their entire lives. My brother and I have fairly normal names, as do Al, I mean, Severus' siblings, or at least their first names. He's just unlucky like that."

"James Sirius? Lily Luna? Those are pretty strange, I guess. I mean, the combination of Lily Luna is atrocious, and Sirius is just plain weird. I mean, my dad gave his first son his own middle name as a first name. That's odd. And my sister's middle name is because of our headmaster. That's so awkward. I can't wait until she starts here."

"Yeah, I guess, but still. Those names are pretty normal compared to Albus Severus and Scorpius Hyperion. And Evangeline Imogene."

"True. Kinda. Sirius is pretty weird. And, really, it's just the combination of your names that's weird."

"Yeah. It is odd." Eva and Severus thought over this in silence for a moment.

"You know, obsessing over our names is just going to make us hate them more." This was the fairly wise observation of Scorpius, who was still a bit sore after his interaction with Severus. They had no chance to reply because Chang came up to their table.

"Scorpius? You are wanted in the headmaster's office. Immediately. Do you know where it is?"

"No," came the confused reply. She proceeded to give him directions to the headmaster's office.

"Now, try not to take too long. I still have to tell you about your schoolbooks and homework and such. Run along."

The three sat in silence, giving each other looks while he was gone. They found that it really was more entertaining with Malfoy around, mostly because the arguments were fun. They practiced the spell with disinterest for a while. Well, except for Rose, who loved doing any sort of magic, even small magic.

"What class do we have next?" Severus asked Eva.

"Charms. Then Herbology, I think. Wait, no. Defense Against the Dark Arts."

"Oh good. My mother wants me to give Professor Longbottom love. How do you even give love, anyway?"

"Well, when two people love each other very much…"

"Not _that_ sort of love. At least I really hope not. Ewww…"

"Ugh. I was going to say 'they say so'. Perv. Get your mind out of the gutter!"

"What? I'm confused…" Severus and Eva looked at Rose, who looked genuinely unaware of what had just been implied.

"Uh, don't worry about it. You'll understand in a couple years."

"Should I be worried?"

"Maybe a little," answered Severus truthfully. He remembered an unfortunate time when Teddy practically tied him down and told him much more than he needed to know about…things, claiming that his father said that he had to. It was in no way a pleasant memory. Not in the slightest.

When Scorpius came back, he was silent. Severus noted that his eyes were a little puffy and he wiped his nose with the sleeve of his robe. But Scorpius slouched in his chair, glaring as if to say "Bother me, and I'll kill you with my eyes." Eva didn't pick up on that.

"Per-Per! What's wrong?" He silently turned to look at her, scowling and looking both angry and sad at the same time. "Oh, Per-Per! Don't be sad!"

"Shut it. I really don't want to talk about it. You wouldn't understand."

"Try me." He turned away, biting his lip. He withdrew a shaking hand from the table top and crossed his arms tightly around himself.

"Oh, stuff it. You're such a drama queen!" Severus scoffed, leaning back in his chair to rest his crossed legs on the table. Scorpius was out of his chair in a second, wand at the ready. Shocked at his agile response, Severus almost fell out of his chair.

"You don't know a thing about it, Potter!" There were tears streaming down his pale face, his silver eyes shiny. "Not a single thing! It's all your fault, anyway! You and your stupid, famous father!"

"Don't associate me with my father, Malfoy! I'm nothing like him! Nothing!"

"Boys! Sit down! This is not the time or place!" Rose made a useless attempt at calming them down, but they were both in a rage now. Severus leapt up from his chair, drawing his wand.

Chang intervened. "If you two don't put your wands down, your heads of houses will hear about it! Put them away. Now." The two boys did put their wands back in their pockets, and Professor Chang walked away with stern glances at both of them.

"Potter, you are exactly like your father. You're a stupid, inconsiderate prick who doesn't give a crap about anyone else but himself," Scorpius said thickly through tears. Severus glared, shoving the other boy roughly in the chest. Eva looked appalled and quickly went to sit on the other side of Rose to be out of the possible scuffle. Scorpius' mouth hung open, surprised at the shove. But not for long.

Shock turned to anger in a second, and he sent a fist flying at Severus's jaw. Yelping in pain, Severus launched himself at Scorpius, knocking him to the ground. They rolled on the floor, hitting each other, bashing each other's heads on the stone slabs, kicking and snarling like animals. Professor Chang ran over and tried to pull Scorpius off of Severus, but the boy resisted, punching and hitting him relentlessly. Chang stepped back.

"_Petrificus Totalus!_" Both boys immediately froze, limbs straightening and clenching tight against their bodies. Scorpius was partially on top of Severus, trying to send him hateful messages with eye motions. "Fifty points from Gryffindor and Slytherin! That was completely out of order! Really, boys! Show some maturity. You two are acting just like your fathers. Hospital Wing, both of you. Get cleaned up. And you have detention. Three weeks. Honestly, I'm very disappointed in the both of you!" She went to the front of the class and began a quick lecture on her homework policy, telling them that they'd need their books every day of class. Scorpius and Severus were still petrified, bleeding from numerous facial wounds, but the spell was very slowly wearing off.

"Mmt mm mpf! Mmt mm mpf!" Scorpius tried to say, but he didn't have full control of his lips or tongue yet.

"What? I can't understand you," Eva whispered, making sure that Chang thought she was paying attention.

"Mmt mm mpf! Gmt mm mpf! Gmt mm mpf!" He started to wiggle almost imperceptibly. She glanced down at him.

"I still don't-"

"Wait, I think he wants to be pushed off of Severus," whispered Rose. Both Scorpius and Severus made frantic eye movements in the affirmative.

"Oh. Duh." She nudged the mostly immobile form of Scorpius with her foot under the table, covertly pushing him until he rolled off the other boy.

"Mmmk moo."

"What?"

"Mmmk moo!"

"Wha-"

"He means, 'Thank you'."

"Oh. You're welcome, then." A few minutes later, when the two had completely regained control of their limbs, they headed to the Hospital Wing. Severus didn't know the way there, being unconscious the last time he went there, but Scorpius did. They walked in silence, occasionally pushing or trying to trip each other. One of Severus' attempts to trip Scorpius was nearly a success.

"Enough! You're so- so-!" He took a deep breath. "Okay, look, I really just don't want to deal with you right now. You have no right to be being such an arse. If you knew…oh, screw it. You would still be being a toerag even if you knew. You're just a Potter."

"What's that supposed to mean? That I'm awesome and amazing and better than you? Because I am."

"And you said you weren't like your father."

"I'm nothing like him!"

"You sure had me fooled."

"Shut it, Malfoy. Before I rip you a new one."

"You know what? Forget what I said. You remind me of MY father. Threats, and a superiority complex. You're just like him sometimes."

"TAKE IT BACK!" Severus had Scorpius against the wall, a hand in his hair, yanking his head back so he made hateful eye contact, wand pointed in his face. "I am nothing like you or your stupid father! I am not scum!" Scorpius gave him a harsh glare and spat in his face.

"You're such a git." With that, he thrust a knee into Severus' general groin area. He howled and doubled over in pain. "Seriously, Potter, you should have seen that coming. But you're just too stupid, I guess." He wiped a little blood from the corner of his mouth and went on down the hall to the Hospital Wing. Severus bit his already-bloodied lip and stood up, walking stiffly. When he caught up, he shoved Scorpius forwards.

"That was low. Even for you, Malfoy."

"Oh, just shut it already! You're just going to get yourself hurt again." They went on in silence for a second or two.

"So, are you mad at your father, or something?"

"He disowned me. Cut me out of the will, forbade me from coming home for the holidays, and has made arrangements for me to stay with an aunt during the summer months until I come of age, at which point he is banning the entire Malfoy family from speaking to me. That's why I was called to the Headmaster's Office. He traveled here on the Floo network as soon as he heard I was in Gryffindor." Severus choked. He had not been expecting something like that, he had just assumed the Malfoy was being a baby.

"I'm sorry. For all the hitting and stuff. If it's any consolation, I'm not going home for Christmas either."

"Yeah? Has your father spelled your house so that you'll turn green and start losing limbs if you set foot on your property?"

"Uh…no. I just figured I wasn't welcome. I don't think my parents know that I'm not coming home yet."

"Lucky you. Your parents probably won't disown you. Don't forget for a second how lucky you are." Severus really had no response to that, so he remained silent as they entered the largely empty Hospital Wing. A mediwitch took one look at them and yelled for Madame Pomfrey. A very elderly lady who still seemed to be pretty active looked at them, did a rather pronounced face-palm, and pointed at two beds. The boys timidly sat on the beds.

Severus was aware that his face was really starting to hurt. His jaw was sore, and he was sure his nose was quite broken, seeing as it hurt immensely to try to breathe through it. Not to mention his glasses were broken. His knuckles were a bit worse for wear as well, and when he looked over at Scorpius, he grew a little angry. The other boy had only a split lip and eyebrow, simple flesh wounds, the most pronounced of his injuries being his middle knuckle which he must have cut open on Severus' teeth, because you could see a little bit of bone. How he wanted to break that well-bred, straight nose! He was stopped from actually taking any action when Madame Pomfrey came over with a tray of various potions and two cups.

"The first week of school! Really! You boys should be ashamed of yourselves! Exactly like your fathers, only they had the sense to wait a while before beating each other! Honestly!" Madame Pomfrey continued her fierce reprimand, but Severus stopped listening. He didn't want to be in trouble. He was never in trouble, never caught if he did something wrong, but here he was, acting like his brother, getting into fights. It wasn't completely his fault, anyway. If it hadn't been for stupid Malfoy-

His thoughts were cut short when a vile liquid was poured down his throat. He coughed and sputtered, but still managed to swallow. He made a face before yelping as he felt his nose and parts of his jaw turn hot and itchy, then cold and throbbing. He heard a very loud gag, and looked over to see Scorpius being force-fed a potion. Another was poured and forced down his own throat, but it wasn't as horrible as the first.

"Now, you two sit there and let the potions work. In fifteen minutes, you two can back to class. Try not to fight again. This stupid hatred between the Malfoys and the Potters needs to end." She turned and left. Severus paid no attention as he took off his glasses.

"_Reparo," _he muttered, examining his glasses for any seemed to be alright, though. A few of the scratches on the lenses had even disappeared. Content, he placed them back on his face.

"Why do you have emo glasses?" Scorpius asked suddenly.

"_Emo_? These are not emo! They are stylish and awesome!"

"Yeah, for a girl."

"Shut it," Severus growled. Surprisingly, Scorpius did as he was told. They sat in silence until Severus finally said. "I think it's been long enough. And I don't want to miss any of Charms."

"You're such a freak."

"I came to terms with that several years ago. It's time you come to accept that. It'll only bring you more stress in the long run."

"Like I said, you're a freak. But, then again, you _are_ a Potter."

"Oh my goodness! Will you get off it? If you're going to hate me, at least hate me for being myself, not this image you have of me as my father."

"I don't hate you. You're just annoying. Dreadfully so."

"You know, you're probably the second person to ever have called me annoying. I respect that, considering that the first person was myself."

"You're never going to get a girl, mate."

**Ahh...Scorpius accidentally quoted Jack Sparrow...because we all love Johnny Depp...who loves reviewers. Like Lucius Malfoy loves his snakey pimp cane. **


	6. Chapter 6

**I don't own Harry Potter or any of his offspring, enemies, the offspring of his enemies, or really anything else related to him**. **That all belongs to a woman, maybe you've heard of her, named J.. One thing that does belong to me is the deep thanks I offer to Petra for her marvelous beta-reading.**

Severus Potter and Awkward Things

Severus coughed. "What does that have to do with anything? Besides! I'm far too young to be interested in girls. As are you."

"Oh, come on. You have to admit, Eva's pretty. Annoying, but pretty. And if you look past the hair, your cousin's not bad either."

"I do not have to admit that! I'm eleven! An old eleven, but eleven nonetheless! Girls are…icky."

"You're hopeless."

"_I'm_ hopeless? You're the one who has a premature sex drive!"

"Whoa, whoa, slow down there! No one said anything about sex! I'm not talking about sex! No, that was one conversation with my father that I DO NOT want to repeat!"

"At least your father had the guts to tell you. Mine made my god-brother tell me!"

"Really? Well, at least you didn't have to suffer through the 'Malfoy Talk About Growing Up'. God, that was awful. 'Now, remember, Scorpius. Do not get caught with a girl! You have the Malfoy honor to uphold! By all means, sleep with as many as you choose, but don't seem committed to any of them because we haven't arranged your marriage yet.'"

"Seriously? That's what your dad said? Teddy was just like 'So, make sure to get with the hot girls. Part Veela is always good, just make sure they're hot. And make sure to wait until the second time with the same girl before bringing out the handcuffs.' It was disturbing. I can't look at my part Veela cousins the same way ever again." Scorpius laughed. "You know, if we wanted to scare them, we could have just been like 'Girls? But I like boys.' That would make them worry." Scorpius choked.

"No. If I told my dad that, he would have a heart attack. I mean, I have to have kids. Little pale, blond kids with perfect noses, foreheads, and cheekbones. Besides, I don't like boys. Ew."

"Yeah, me neither."

"Guess you're asexual then."

"I'm not! I'm just ELEVEN!"

"What does being eleven have to do with anything?" Eva asked, waiting outside the Transfigurations classroom with their school books and Rose. They had reached the class without noticing.

Scorpius smirked. "Nothing. Severus here is just-"

"No! I'm not!" he defended, causing Eva to give him a weird look.

"Okay…you're exactly as strange as before. Must not have been too damaged. Although it seems your nose would beg to differ. Off to Charms, then?" Severus glared at Rose, not particularly pleased about any possible lasting damage of his nose. When the four of them reached Charms, they were met with a very strange surprise – the professor, Professor Flitwick, was not only very, very short, but also transparent and made of some sort of pearly, wispy material. "Is he-?"

"A ghost? I would assume so," replied Severus, watching the phantom professor curiously. "What do you think it would be like if you touched him? I kind of want to-"

"Welcome, students!" greeted the ghost in a squeaky voice. "Please take your seats so we can begin class." The four sat, loosely divided by house, Eva next to Severus who was next to Scorpius who was next to Rose. They all had their wands and Charms books out, glancing questioningly at the large, white feathers in front of them. "So, we are going to start this class with a standard diagnostic test that I use every year. Pointing your wand at the feather in front of you, I want each of you to say the words _Wingardium Leviosa_, but remember to use this wand motion." He demonstrated with a gentle swish and flick of his wand. "I'll be going around the room to watch all of you."

The four concentrated on their feathers intently. Rose was the first to try the spell, and was rewarded with the expected result of her feather floating in the air, moving as she directed with her wand. Severus did the same, with the same result. He sent his feather around the room, then behind Scorpius to tickle him on the back of the neck, which granted him a glare. He grinned back, experimenting to see how fast he could make the feather move and how sharply he could make it turn and spin. Truth be told, Severus was actually rather bored with his feather, and, after making sure that Professor Flitwick was on the other side of the room, mentally charmed it to be a vibrant magenta.

"How'd you do that?" Rose asked, a little put off.

He shrugged. "I dunno. Just sorta thought it. I can make it change colors, too." He concentrated on the feather for a second, then smiled when it started to slowly shift from magenta to navy, navy to turquoise, turquoise to marigold and so on.

"No fair! We haven't learned how to do that yet!" Rose whined, jealous of her cousin's success.

"Learned to do what, Miss Weasley?" Flitwick asked, floating behind them. Severus hastily changed his feather back to white.

"Do that!" She pointed at his feather, then frowned when she found that it was its original color. "Well, before it was doing it. Changing colors, I mean."

"Really?" twittered the tiny professor. "And who's feather would that be?" Severus slapped himself internally. He decided not to show off to Rose again.

"It's mine, Professor. Sorry, it's just that the plain white was kind of boring. I didn't mean to do something wrong. Honest." He accompanied this with a pleadingly innocent look, hoping to avoid any more trouble for the day.

"So you just cast a color-changing charm?" Severus nodded. "Really? Well, that's quite interesting. Quite interesting indeed." Professor Flitwick chuckled to himself and walked down the row, giving help where needed. When he was a good ways off, Severus leaned over Scorpius over to Rose.

"Why'd you go and tell him for? He's probably going to tell my Head of House and I'll be in even more trouble. Thanks a lot, Rosie."

"Sorry! I just wanted to be able to do it too! I didn't think you'd get in trouble for it! And I don't think you are in trouble, in any case," she whispered back, feeling a bit guilty.

"It's okay. Hey, do you want to go find the library with me later on? I kind of want to see what books they have. I'm in the mood for a mystery, I think."

"Idiot. They don't have fiction books in the Hogwarts library! Only spells and stuff. And what are you? A Ravenclaw? Slytherins aren't supposed to be seen in the library," Eva whispered, a little insulted that Severus had asked his cousin instead of her.

"She's right. I can't go anyway. James told me not to talk to or be seen with you outside of class. Otherwise he'll tell mum and dad that I talk to Scor. No offense, Scor, but if my parents knew that we talked, I'd be in big trouble."

"None taken. Hell, if my dad knew that I talked to you or Potter, I'd be disowned. Oh, wait. Already was."

"_What_?" hissed Eva. "_Disowned_? You can't have been disowned! You're eleven! Besides, you've done nothing wrong!"

"Tell that to my father. Actually, if you did, he'd probably curse you. But according to him, being a Gryffindor is a misdeed worthy of a disowning."

"I really think he's overreacting about that. I mean, it's not your fault you got Sorted like that. In fact, I think I will write him. Ooh! I could ask my parents to send me paper for a howler!" Severus plotted gleefully. He imagined the enraged look on the face of the elder Malfoy (who he'd never properly seen, but figured he looked like an older version of Scorpius) when he got a howler from a Potter. It really was a priceless image.

"No! You cannot send my father a howler! He'd kill me for sure! I mean, he _is _a Malfoy. He has his pride."

Rose hesitated. "While I do think that's a funny and, no doubt, idiotic plan, I am curious: When did you tell Al-I mean, Sev about this? Is that why you were crying?"

"I wasn't crying. Malfoys never cry. I may have been upset, but there were no tears. And, yes, that was why, but, really, I think I've gotten over it. I mean, really, who needs parents anyway? Seven more years and I can change my name and be rid of them."

"Per-Per! Don't say that! Your parents love you. They just haven't quite figured out who you are yet. Give them time. Don't give up on your own family. It'll always come back to haunt you. I learned that from that Muggle soap opera, the one where their last names are all street names."

"That's every Muggle soap opera. Why were you watching those, anyway?"

"My parents bought one of those TV's to try to see if they could make it magic for the Ministry, but it didn't work, so they let me have it. Muggle television really is a wondrous thing."

Severus' eyes lit up. "I know! Have you seen that Dr. Who episode where-"

"Dr. Who? What, is the show a question? Muggle artifacts are terribly outdated and useless. Why have those things when you have magic? It's completely redundant," scoffed Scorpius.

Severus looked at him with wide eyes. "Redudant? You haven't lived if you've never listened to an iPod! Muggle bands are the best." With a cautious look at Professor Flitwick, he took his iPod out of his jeans pocket and gave Scorpius an earbud, taking one for himself. He searched through his iPod until he found a good song to demonstrate the wonder of Muggle bands. It was difficult, considering that about half of his songs were various wizard bands, but he settled on one and pressed Play. After a few seconds of constantly changing expressions, Scorpius arched an eyebrow.

"What is this?"

"Lost! by Coldplay. Kind of old, but it's still a good song. Besides, Coldplay never really gets old."

"Coldplay? What kind of name is that?"

"Look, it's not like I knew exactly what they were thinking when they named their band. I just listen to their music. Here, listen to this." He switched to a different song. This one brought forth an increasingly horrified expression from the boy's pale face.

"What the bloody hell is this?!"

"It's a really old song, from back when my grandparents were in school, I think. From a movie. I think. I haven't seen it, but I found the soundtrack in a Muggle vintage store."

"What movie?! This is…not normal!"

"Rocky Horror Picture Show." Eva began to laugh uncontrollably. Both boys turned to look at her rather loud display of mirth.

"I saw that movie!" she laughed. "It was on late. A re-run. It's hilarious! Oh, you must watch it. We shall have a movie night in the Slythein Common Room! No, that would be stupid. We can watch it on Sevvy's bed. But we will watch it, and soon. I love that movie."

"Wait, why my bed?"

"Well, once we get Rosie and Per-Per in, we can all go there. We couldn't have it on my bed, or even Rosie's, and, really, I'm not too keen on entering the Gryffindor Common Room. Big Brother Potter might see fit to hurt you or something."

"Oh goodness. I tried to forget about James. He's probably going to kill me. Bugger." Severus slammed his head on the table in front of him, trying not to think. He knew his brother could hold a grudge, and he knew that he didn't like him much in the first place. His brother didn't actually think that he'd be in Slytherin, so now he'd probably be dreadfully smug or something. Or just make fun of him. Or hurt him. None of the possibilities were very appealing. He kind of wished he didn't have a brother in the first place. He sat there, forehead on the table, glasses pressing uncomfortably against his face, eyes on the old, age-smoothed wood of the table.

"Is something wrong with him?" asked Scorpius.

Rose laughed. "Uh, yeah. His brother is very, very…Gryffindor. James' has got to be mad that his younger brother, the one who he was always ignored for because of his resemblance to their father, is now besmirching the Potter name. And, well, to be honest, Jamesie's a bit of a git. He's not taking it well. He's angry. He's kind of like your father in a way, keeping with the old prejudices about houses and honor and such. A confrontation between the Potter brothers would be…memorable, to say the least," she explained, then looked up. "Although right now, I think we should worry about getting to Defense." They all looked up, including Severus, and saw that the classroom was empty but for Professor Flitwick, who was floating around at the top of some shelves towards the rear of the classroom. The all gathered up their books, Severus shoving his iPod back into his pocket, and left, following Rose to their next classroom.

The walked into the brightly lit Defense Against the Dark Arts classroom cheerfully, sitting towards the front. But when Severus saw the teacher, he froze with fear and recognition.

**Heh heh...I think this is what one would call a cliffhanger. I think. You'll never guess who it is...**


	7. Chapter 7

**Oi! Sorry about the wait for this chapter! Took a lot longer than it should have. And, as always, many thanks to Petra for her help, especially with the awesomeness of...well, I won't finish that just yet. Oh, and I own nothing but my computer and brain.  
**

Chapter 3: Severus and the Grumpy Professor **  
**

Severus knew who his teacher was immediately, not completely by sight, but by the expression on the teacher's face. It was completely blank but for a deep, soulful frown, but there was no mistaking it. This teacher was familiar despite the only time Severus had ever been in any sort of contact with the man was when he was inside his head. This was the boy from his dream, the one he shared a name with, although he was much older and seemed to be a ghost, like their last professor. He ducked his head down, his intuition telling him that he did not want to be seen by the teacher. The professor floated down the aisle dividing the tables in the room in half.

"Before we begin, I will have to ask you to separate. Gryffindor on this side, Slytherin on the other side. And try to organize yourselves alphabetically, starting in the front," drawled the professor in a voice dripping with sarcasm. It took the students a few minutes to alphabetize themselves; Severus was grateful for being next to Eva alphabetically. When they had all settled down, the professor continued from the front of the room. "Students, I am Professor Snape. You'll want to stay on my good side, as this class is mandatory for the next seven years. Everyone, open your books to page one, assuming, that is, that you all have your books. Read the introduction. When you have finished, raise your hand and I will quiz all of you when I see that everyone has finished. You may begin."

Severus read the six or seven pages quickly, frowning when he reached the end. It seemed that the introduction was written by his ever-famous father. Without thinking, he raised his hand to signify that he was finished, only realizing afterwards that he was the first person with his hand up and that Professor Snape's attention would be immediately focused on him. He looked down, trying to hide his face. The professor floated over to him.

"Ah. Another Potter. It seems you are on the wrong side of the room. Gryffindor is over there."

"I hate to disappoint you, sir, but I'm a Slytherin," Severus said, refusing to look up.

Snape scoffed. "Nonsense. It seems you are even stupider than your father. You're a Potter. There aren't any Potters in my house."

"But, sir, I'm a Slytherin. I swear it. Ask anyone," he almost-whispered, daring to look up. Snape was glaring inquisitively at him, and then looked around that side of the room.

"I will. Where's Malfoy? I thought the Malfoy was in this year." Severus glanced over at Scorpius quickly, who he found was watching.

"Scorpius is over there, sir." Severus gestured with a quick jerk of the head.

"Mr. Malfoy, come over here," Snape called, looking as if he was seeing something completely impossible. Scorpius walked over, eyes on the floor. "In the hall, both of you." They walked out into the hall, giving each other nervous glances. Once out of the classroom, Snape spun on them. "Do you two think this is _funny_? Switching places like this? There are so many better pranks to pull, this is just plain foolish. What I really can't believe is that you two are on good enough terms to do this."

"But, sir-" they both started at once. Severus stopped, allowing Scorpius to continue. "This isn't a prank. I really was Sorted into Gryffindor, and Severus really was Sorted into Slytherin. Believe me, my father's furious, and his family isn't exactly accepting him with open arms…" Scorpius continued, but, Severus noticed, Snape's eyes lost focus at 'Severus'. "Um, sir?"

"Sorry. Did you say 'Severus'?"

Severus glanced over at Scorpius while Severus replied, "Yes, he did. Albus Severus, technically, but I dropped Albus. My father named me after you and the other headmaster."

"What? Why would he do that?" Snape asked, rubbing the side of his face.

"Well, he said that you're the bravest man he ever knew. Then he wrote something about his mother and something about hating you and not fully appreciating you until after your death. It was a little confusing, in fact, most of the letter was a guilt trip trying to make me think that being in Slytherin was a mistake and pretty much saying that if I was really good, people would forget that I was a Slytherin. Load of bollocks, if you ask me." Severus was very careful about how he worded what he said. He could tell that there was a lot of hatred for his father in his professor, despite the fact that he gave his life for him. Severus thought he kind of liked him.

"You can return to class. Both of you. I don't want to deal with the mishaps of your parents at the moment," Professor Snape sighed, but before he turned his back on him, he thought he could see one corner of his deep set frown raise, not enough to be a smile, but enough to mean something: it seemed Professor Snape was mildly pleased.

To be honest, Severus didn't pay much attention in Defense. It was fairly boring in all actuality. They weren't really doing anything, just answering questions about how they thought Defense worked and examples in history of Defense Against the Dark Arts, which resulted in much talk about Severus' father, which caused him to fall asleep on his schoolbooks.

"Mr. Potter, though I will excuse you this time due to the boring subject matter, if you make a habit of sleeping in my class, I will have to give you detention." Severus sat up with a start to find that the classroom was practically empty, save for Professor Snape hovering above him.

"Thank you, Professor. Sorry, it won't happen again," he pleaded gathering his belongings together.

"I honestly can't blame you, as I almost fall asleep whenever I have to talk about your father and the war, but try not to sleep during my class. And don't forget that I'm your head of house, so you obviously want to try to stay on my good side. On a side note, Mr. Potter, do you actually go by 'Severus' rather than 'Albus'?"

"SEVVY! Hurry up! Per-Per and Rosie want to go to dinner!" Eva called, sticking her head in the door. "Oops, sorry, Professor Snape."

"It seems that question has been answered. Who is 'Per-Per'? That name is atrocious, to be honest."

"I constantly thank my parents for not giving me 'Hyperion' as a middle name. Scorpius, however, does not have that luxury, and Eva likes making cutesy names. Hence 'Sevvy' and 'Per-Per'," Severus explained. "And, if you don't mind me asking, why aren't you teaching Potions?"

He frowned. "How would you-"

Eva cut in with, "Professor, can we have him back now? Dinner's about to start and we still need to get to the dungeons to put up our books."

"Oh, yes, go ahead."

"Wait, sir, if we have detention, when do we go to the professor's classroom?"

"Directly after dinner. Why? Tell me you don't have detention already…"

"Sorry, sir. Scorpius and I got in a fight in Professor Chang's class. He started it."

Eva rolled her eyes. "Sev, don't even try to pin the blame on him! You're the one who kept saying he was overreacting about being disowned! _And_ you shoved him first! It's not Per-Per's fault at all."

"He said I was acting like my father! He's never even met my father!"

"Go to dinner, both of you. You're giving me a headache." Professor Snape floated up to his office with a very slight smile, leaving Severus to fend off the blame. Blame which he rightly deserved and he knew it, but he wasn't going to give in. They went to the dungeons, bickering amiably as they walked, seeing as Scorpius and Rose had went off to Gryffindor Tower when Severus took too long.

At dinner, Eva did one of the strangest things she, or anyone else for that matter, had ever done. She took Severus, Violet (who was beginning to like the Great Hall), and Hades and Cerberus (who were beginning to dislike Violet) and sat over at the Gryffindor table. Upon sitting across from Scorpius and Rose, two extra plates appeared. Severus was rather uneasy. He could hear his brother laughing loudly from where he was sitting, and saw the Delacour-Weasleys in all their Veela-enhanced glory. To say that it was not his favorite place in the world was a dramatic understatement.

**Oh noes! It's the...Gryffindors! They always have firghtened me a bit, being all arrongant and ridiculously brave, to the point of "Oh sure, I'll jump off the Astronomy Tower for a galleon!" I fear for them. Except for one: Hermione. The song "Pretty Girl" by Peeved is marvelous because it makes her a badass. Anyway...since this is the end of a chapter...then next thing to do is to click on that little "submt review" button and show how marvelously nice you are! Please and thank you!**


	8. Chapter 8

**Disclaimer: I don't own a thing. Honestly, this is common sense. If I was Jo, I would not be writing fanfiction for my own series. Although, unlike Jo, I utilize the marvelous beta-ing talents of Petra. **

Severus Potter and a Healthy Dose of Greek Mythology

"Eva, I'm not so sure about this…"

"Oh, hush," she chided, stroking Violet absently. "It's time this school got over house boundaries. I think we should all spend as much time as possible in Common Rooms and dorms other than our own, to show that it doesn't matter who's in what house. Besides, you need to be on better terms with your brother. I overheard some of the first year Gryffindors talking about him offering five galleons to whoever jinxes you first. You're only safe because they don't know any jinxes."

"That's a good idea. If we can integrate the houses a bit, then you won't feel like such an outcast. Although, I think the Slytherins are going to need some work. I suggest that for the next week, we all eat breakfast and lunch at the Slytherin table and dinner here," Rose suggested. Severus shrugged, seeing the sense in what they said and took Hades and Cerberus out of his robes and onto the table so they could eat some bits of bread and roast chicken. They were very well-behaved, and as long as Eva kept Violet satisfied, they would be fine on the table.

"Are those hedgehogs?" Scorpius asked through a large mouthful of food. Severus wrinkled his nose in distaste at the bits of potato and peas falling from his slightly open mouth.

"Yes, they are. This one is Hades and this one is Cerberus." He pointed at Hades and Cerberus, respectively.

Scorpius cocked is head to one side, chewing thoughtfully. "How do you tell them apart?"

"Well, Cerberus is a tiny bit smaller. And, if you look closely, he has these marks on either side of his neck that look like two extra pairs of eyes, hence Cerberus. Hades has a tiny, almost unnoticeable ring on the top of his head, like a crown."

"Why'd you give them weird names?" Scorpius asked, ripping a chunk of meat off a chicken leg.

"They aren't weird names; they're from Greek mythology. Hades was the god of wealth and the Underworld. Cerberus was his three-headed dog. I gave one to my little sister for her eighth birthday, a female named Persephone because she liked to sleep in the garden and Persephone was the goddess of Spring and the Underworld," Severus explained, watching the hedgehogs in question nibble at the food in his palm.

"So, why'd you give them weird names?" Scorpius asked again, not thinking of that as an answer.

"They aren't weird! Just interesting!" he defended. "By the way, we have to report for detention after dinner. You don't want to be late. I don't know who your head of house is, but whoever it is will probably get mad if you forget."

Rose informed them, "The Gryffindor head of house is Professor Longbottom, Slytherin is Professor Snape, Ravenclaw is Professor Flitwick, and Hufflepuff is Hagrid, but that's more of an honorary title because he's been here so long. He wasn't actually in Hufflepuff, but the Hufflepuffs don't care. It's in Hogwarts: A History, Volume II. Volume I only goes up to about a hundred or so years ago. Volume II contains more detailed maps and such, more information about headmasters, and, of course, several chapters about the Battle of Hogwarts. It was actually written by my mother, under a pseudonym." Eva and Scorpius really didn't care about any of this, leaning more towards wanting Rose to shut it, but Severus was interested.

"Really? May I borrow it from you?"

"Yes. Or you can check it out from the library. They're bound to have a copy or two. And if you're going there tonight, you'll get it sooner than I can give it to you. I still have to finish the last chapter."

"Okay. I'll do that. Good idea."

"Yeah, she's full of those," added a voice from behind him, one that Severus recognized immediately as his brother's. "Just wanted to see how my little brother the snake is doing. You're at the wrong table, you know. Your lot sits over there."

"Oh, bugger off," hissed Eva.

James frowned. "I don't think we've met. I'm James Potter. And you are…?"

"Pissed. Go away and find someone else to annoy." Eva rolled her eyes and looked over at Rose. "So what sorts of maps are in this book?"

With a hesitant look at her older cousin, Rose answered, "Maps of the secret passages in and out of the castle, maps of the common rooms and dorms, maps of the grounds and Hogsmeade. That sort of thing."

"I guess you aren't going to cooperate, then," James announced, hauling his brother to his feet. "It seems you need to be taught your place. Over with the other serpents, Snake Boy."

"Snake Boy? Really? What, am I to call you 'Lion Cub'? Are the Ravenclaws now 'Bird Kid' and the Hufflepuffs 'Badger Child'? Could you be any more idiotic?" Severus challenged, freeing himself from his older and several inches taller brother.

"Stuff it and move along. You and your little serpent girlfriend need to go back to where you belong."

"James, really, this is stupid. I wasn't bothering you in any way, so just leave us alone and go back to your friends."

"No. I'm not letting you sit here. You gave up your chance to be a Gryffindor. You can't be both."

"I'm not trying to be both. I'm trying to sit with my friends. And it was not my choice to be a Slytherin. In fact, I asked to be Sorted into Gryffindor, but the Hat refused. And I don't need you telling me what I am and what I am not, because honestly, you don't know me at all, no better than mum or dad, obviously. You seem to take after James anyway; you're both stupid gits."

"Mr. Potter, I have no idea what you two are talking about, nor do I care, but you and your brother are making quite a scene," supplied the suddenly-present Professor Snape. James went back to his friends with a glare sent in Severus' direction.

"But, Professor, my brother is a complete toerag," Severus said angrily. The professor gave him a weary look.

"The curse of the Potters, I'm afraid,"

He sighed. "I guess so, sir. I'll just be going off to detention, then." He pocketed his hedgehogs and left rather abruptly, leaving Scorpius behind. He was halfway to the dungeons when a strange sensation stopped him: something like his shoulder being doused in ice water, but only a small portion of his shoulder. He spun around to find Professor Snape. That answered his question about ghosts, then.

"Mr. Potter, why do you hate your brother? Not that I actually care, but it seems to have upset the other students."

"He's bullied me and pulled pranks on me since I was five. That, and he's was a git and a toerag, sir. I guess it goes with the name. "

"There's potential for a decent Potter in your genes. It's unlikely, but possible."

"I didn't mean 'Potter', Professor. I meant 'James'."

"And what would lead you to that conclusion?"

"A combination of factors, least of all a letter from my father, but that only said that James hated you and stole your girlfriend. I had a dream, well, two to be accurate, and both were pretty undreamlike. In fact, I still remember every bit of them. The first took place in the Potions room, where I was you, and James tripped you and made fun of you. The second was out by the lake, only I was James, and he was talking to Lily, basically planning on doing something to you and only deciding not to when Lily convinced him of it. And I know for a fact that these weren't normal dreams, and that he was a git. With all due respect, sir." Severus really had no idea what was spilling out of his mouth. His thoughts hadn't formed themselves completely when he started talking, and now that it was said, he felt foolish for saying it. He realized how ridiculous it all sounded.

"I like you, Potter. I'm not going to call you by your first name because that would just be uncomfortable, but I like you for some reason. And, no, I don't think those were dreams. Those things happened, or at least the first did, and the second is very likely to have happened. They were memories, but not in any form I've heard of. Although, that's impossible because there's no way for you to have seen them. Let me talk to Professor Chang and see if I can convince her to let you take your detention with me. You intrigue me. And I want to probe that mind of yours. I talked to your Professors Chang and Flitwick at supper, and what I heard was a little more interesting than I expected from the offspring of Potter and Weasley. More what I would expect from Granger, although she made the mistake of marrying an idiot like a Weasley. Despite being a Muggleborn and terribly concerned with Muggles, she had a very good head on her shoulders, if I recall.

"I will go ahead and talk to Professor Chang about releasing you from detention. Go back to your dormitory, gather your things, find the little Malfoy, and go. You know, it's the strangest thing to see you two on good terms. Spitting images of your fathers. It's really quite disturbing. Anyway, I'll talk to your professor and see if we can work something out. Run along, now, Mr. Potter." Severus did as he was told, putting his hedgehogs in his trunk and taking both his Transfiguration and Defense books. He went up to Gryffindor Tower, hoping that Scorpius hadn't already left for detention. He stood awkwardly in front of the portrait of the Fat Lady.

"Harry Potter? No, you're his son. You look just like him. Why haven't I seen you here? Got sorted into Ravenclaw? Hufflepuff maybe?" she asked, trying to hide the fact that she was very curious about the boy, hoping to find a juicy bit of gossip. Severus didn't like her too much.

"Slytherin, actually. Do you know if Scorpius Malfoy has gone in yet? Or if he left? I'm waiting for him."

"What a shame. Malfoy?" she spat. "You're friends with that boy? He went in about five minutes ago."

"He shouldn't be taking so long. Is it alright if I go in? I don't want to be late for detention."

"Detention? Tsk tsk. I don't think I can let you in. Nothing personal, it's just that you don't have the password and you aren't Gryffindor. I could maybe let you shout for him…" The painting swung aside and Severus stuck his head in.

"Scorpius? You there?" he shouted into the Common Room. A small redhead he recognized from a couple family gatherings looked over her chair at him.

"He just went in the dorms. Want me to go get him?" she asked.

"Thanks, Molly. Could you tell him we need to go to detention?"

She smiled warmly. "Sure." He was thankful she didn't mention that he was in detention already. He pulled himself away from the room and sat against the wall across from the Fat Lady.

"Did that help, dear?" she asked, though she didn't seem to care a whole lot.

"Yes, thank you. My cousin is going to tell him that I'm waiting." He drummed his fingers on his leg. A couple minutes later, Scorpius emerged, book in hand.

"I hope I didn't keep you waiting too long. Professor Wood had to talk to me after dinner." They began walking to Transfigurations.

Severus arched an eyebrow. "Really? What about?"

"He said something about trying out for the quidditch team later this year. He wants me to be Seeker," he explained, enthusiasm poorly hidden. Severus didn't much care for the sport, but he decided to pretend for the sake of peace.

"That's great. I'm really happy for you. You'll be replacing my brother, though. He won't be happy about that." He bit his lip. "Oh, and I might not be in detention today. Snape wasn't happy about me falling asleep in class and might talk to Professor Chang about me going to his detention instead." He wasn't sure why he lied, but it seemed the right thing to do. Besides, telling the truth would make him sound like he thought he was special, which he certainly was not.

Scorpius frowned. "Oh. I was hoping I wouldn't be alone for my first detention. But I guess if a professor says so, you have to."

"Yeah. I'm not too excited about having to spend an hour with the ghost of a man who hated my father and grandfather," Severus lied again. He actually liked Professor Snape. He was interesting and, on some level, he identified with him. Being an outsider was easy for him to relate to.

**Oh Severus and your imitation-angst...how you remind me of Harry sometimes! Like in the fifth book...and the sixth...and pretty much all of them, because Harry is a creature of angst and awesomeness. Show your love for Harry (I guess) by being a shining example of a reader and submitting a review! Mucho love!**


	9. Chapter 9

**I do not own the series of Harry Potter. If I did, I would probably explode from sheer epicness. Instead, I explode with gratitude for my wonderful beta, Petra.**

Severus Potter and the Third Ghost (who doesn't matter all that much)

Severus met Professor Snape in his classroom, but soon followed him into his office. It was remarkably impersonalized, having only the basic necessities since, as a ghost, Snape had some trouble using physical objects. Which was why, Severus figured, he didn't seem to have a wand, but did use wandless magic. Snape pulled a chair up to his desk for Severus and sat across from him.

"This will no doubt be unpleasant, but I need to find out exactly what you saw." Severus stared at his professor, finding that his eyes were darkened slightly, holding a very slight tint. Suddenly, he felt something gently touching the edges of his mind, trying to slide in unnoticed. Reflexively, he tried to force the intrusion out. He didn't like the feeling of something besides himself in his mind. He blocked it, setting up a sort of wall around his consciousness. Snape frowned deeply.

"Professor, what are you doing?" Severus' question was ignored.

Snape's eyes narrowed. "When did your father teach you Occlumency?"

"Occlu-whatty? What were you doing with my mind?" he asked, a bit suspicious.

"Occlumency. Just answer the question. When did your father teach you how to block people from your mind?"

"Sir, what are you talking about? What were you doing? Why were you in my head?"

"Great. Potter was a terrible Occlumens, but he must have learned sometime…and taught it to his children…" Severus was aware that Snape was no longer talking to him, but more to himself, trying to figure something out. "When did you learn how to do that?" he snapped.

"Uh…what?"

"Blocking me from your mind. When? Who taught you?"

"No one taught me. You just tried to get and I pushed you out, that's all."

"So you're saying that somehow you just managed to successfully use Occlumency against an experienced Legilimens? Your father was terrible. You can't be good. It's something that takes practice and discipline. You can't just succeed on the first try. Who taught you?"

"No one, I swear. I've never done that before in my life! Wait, so it goes both ways? I could, in theory, do the same thing to you?" Snape looked overwhelmed at this realization of his student. Severus took this as a moment to experiment. He sent mental fingers out to his professor's mind, trying to worm his way in. When that failed, he attacked with force, then, feeling a tiny crack in the wall he found. He was about to sneak through, when he was startled.

"ENOUGH!" Professor Snape yelled. "What do you think you're doing? You can_not_ use Legilimency against me! That was not the purpose of this. You do not have permission to use Legilimency, from the Minstry or me. This is not what was supposed to happen…" he trailed off, going deep into his mind. The room was silent for several moments. Severus looked down, unsure of how bad it was that he acted as he did. He didn't see much wrong it, considering that his professor had done the same to him, but he thought it might have been one of those things adults are allowed to do, but not children. It was kind of fun, though. Trying it out on his friends could be fun…

"Professor, am I in trouble?" Severus asked, biting his lip thoughtfully.

Snape sighed. "No. You're just not what I, or anyone else, for that matter, expected. I need to test you in other areas of magic, though."

Snape took Severus into the classroom, going through spells with him. He thought he was doing quite well, but the frown on Snape's face just grew deeper and deeper. After two hours of various spells, incantations, jinxes, and charms, Snape stopped testing him. Severus was a little tired and uncertain of how he did.

"Professor, will I have time to go to the Library after this? I wanted to find a book or two tonight…"

"The Library closed an hour and a half ago," the professor drawled, seeming mentally exhausted. "Go back to your dorm and sleep. I have to talk with Professor Lovegood tonight." Severus, realizing that he had been dismissed, left with his unused textbooks, walking down to the dungeons. He entered his own dorms, and, after tossing his books in his trunk, flopped onto his bed. He didn't bother changing clothes before falling asleep.

_He was laying on the grass, warm sun helping to alleviate the cool breeze. There was a girl lying next to him, Lily, and she was silent. He wanted to say something, but there was no way for him to put into words what he felt he had to say. _

"_You said that it doesn't make a difference, Sev," she said abruptly. " You always said that. Until yesterday. I'm angry with you, I want you to know that. You hurt me, Sev. I thought we were friends."_

"_We are! I promise, I didn't mean it! You're the best witch I know, but-"_

"_But that doesn't change the fact that I'm a- a Mudblood! Why did you have to be friends with them? You could have been in Gryffindor, then none of this would ever have happened." He twirled a blade of grass between his fingers then stopped, throwing it to the side angrily._

_He sat up. "You think that being a Gryffindor would make this all better? They have flaws, Lily. Just look at James!" She sat up as well, crossing her arms in front of her with a hurt look._

"_I swear, you two are so similar sometimes. He's just upfront about it if he hates you," she hissed._

_He bit his lip. "What are you saying?"_

_Lily stood, brushing grass off her knees. "I'm saying you're a coward, Severus Snape. You've hated me all the time we've known each other, haven't you? You're just too afraid to say it!"_

"_Don't call me a coward! You wouldn't understand. I could never hate you, Lily. Never. And I am not a coward." He couldn't look at her; deep down, he felt she was right. He was a coward, through and through._

"_That's where you're wrong. You've never done anything for any reason other than to save your own skin."_

"_I am not a coward!" he yelled. Lily looked as if she had been struck._

"_I can't do it anymore, Sev. Until you learn to think of others instead of just yourself, we can't be friends. Not anymore. You only ever care about yourself." She stormed off, hair blowing behind her like a fire storm._

"_I care, Lily!" he called after her. "I do! I- I love you." He knew she didn't hear. He looked down at his knees and grimaced as cowardly tears left his eyes._

The next morning at breakfast, Severus wasn't very hungry. This was due to the fact that he was sitting opposite Scorpius, who resembled a particularly messy explosion while eating. Egg was running down his chin as he shoved toast into his mouth. Severus grimaced in distaste.

"Could you try closing your mouth while you chew? If there wasn't so much food in the way, I could see your tonsils." Scorpius' only response was to stick out his partially chewed food-covered tongue out at him. Severus gagged. "It's like watching some sort of carnivorous beast in the middle of a field of grazing animals. Ew."

"Love, just don't look. As long as you avert your eyes, you can ignore it," Rose said.

"I can still _hear_ it," Severus whined with squeezed-shut eyes. Rose rolled her eyes.

"So how was detention? Scor said you had to go to Professor Snape's. What did you have to do?"

"Lines. It wasn't too bad, but it was boring as hell. 'I must not fall asleep during class' can only be written so many times before you feel like clawing your own eyes out."

"I didn't have to do much, actually. Just scrub the tables down," Scorpius said through an overfull mouth of food, food that was now in bits on the table and Severus' face. Severus said nothing, but wiped partially chewed toast and egg off of his face with a disgusted grimace.

History of Magic was probably the most useful class of all, Severus decided. After thinking a bit of magic intended to show open eyes behind his glasses, he slept. It was awkward, resting his chin on his arms, but much better than actually paying attention. Besides, Professor Binns' voice was enough to lull him into a state of half-sleep even if he hadn't been tired. Occasionally, Scorpius or Eva would nudge him when Binns neared so he could pretend to be more alert and jotting down notes or something. But due to this, he was never able to fall into a real sleep.

Scorpius and Eva joked about the lecture as the four made their way to Hagrid's Hut. Severus felt a little left out, so he involved himself the best way he knew how: by tripping Scorpius. The pale boy went sprawling onto the ground. When he looked up at the grinning Severus, he growled.

"Sevvy! What the hell?" Eva yelled, helping Scorpius to his feet. "Why'd you push Per-Per?" Severus, however, was incapable of answering due to the fact that he was laughing himself silly. With mirth-closed eyes, he was completely unaware of a very, very angry Scorpius getting to his feet. With an animal snarl, he launched himself at Severus, who landed flat on his back, the wind knocked out of him. He was silent before a whining moan escaped his lips.

"Prat…" he breathed. "I think you dislocated my vertebrae…Unhhh…"

"Stupid blighter," hissed Eva, pulling the groaning Severus to his feet. "Always doing something stupid, aren't you? You're hopeless."

Rose rolled her eyes. "Come _on_, you three! We've got to get to Care of Magical Creatures! I am not going to be late." She grabbed Severus and Scorpius' hands and dragged them down the hill towards Hagrid's Hut. Eva pushed them along from behind.

Hagrid stood outside his hut in front of two loose rows of first year students. They all looked fairly nervous, looking at a crate. The dark purple fabric covering it fluttered at the ends as the box jerked in place as if possessed. High-pitched squeaking sounds and metallic fluttering noises emanated from within. The four sidled up without drawing much attention, as all eyes, including those of Hagrid, were glued on the crate.

"Alrigh' there, firs' years. Le's begin yer firs' less'n. Now, I bet yer all wondrin' wha's in tha' crate. Well, er, do I got any volunteers to open it? Any of yeh?" He looked at the students, all of which using their own method of trying not to be seen. For Severus, this meant subtly moving behind Scorpius, who noticed at once what was happening and took a step to the left. Severus let out an involuntary squeak. "Albus? Come on over an' open it!" With a flourish, Hagrid whipped off the fabric on top of the crate, revealing numerous warnings in many languages about dangerous beasts. Severus blanched. "Don' be shy! Come on up. It's really no' tha' hard. An' they aren' tha' dangerous. Just a bit…moody, tha's all. Come an' have a go." Severus couldn't move. Or at least not until he was nudged by Scorpius. Severus thought it was more of a push than a nudge, but it moved him forwards all the same. He had a sinking feeling that the only reason he was picked was because he reminded Hagrid of his father, but he tried to ignore that little fact.

With a wary glance at Hagrid, Severus yanked the side of the crate off, jumping to the side reflexively. At first, Severus thought that what came out of the crate was smoke or a cloud, silver and thick. But after further inspection, he saw tiny flying creatures, no larger than his little finger. They flitted around, landing on students' shoulders and heads. They had veined gossamer wings, iridescent and glittering. He held out a finger and one of the creatures landed on it. He brought the little thing to his face, mirroring its curious stare. It had very small eyes and a thin, willowy body covered in soft silvery skin. Looking around, he noticed that several other students were examining the creatures now that they realized that they weren't malevolent.

"Hagrid, what are these things?" Severus asked, eyeing the tiny creature.

"Oh, they're called Grelkies. Swee' lit'le things, they are. They make yeh happy. Tha's all. Can be rather feisty, though."

"Grelkies, eh? They seem all right," Scorpius mused, watching one crawl up his arm. "What do we do with them?"

"Yer all gonna feed 'em. Very simple. Just think of somethin' unhappy, an' they'll just feed offa tha'. 'Snot very powerful, but they make yeh feel a lit'le bi' happier."

Severus did exactly as he was told, thinking about something unpleasant. But that was when things got weird.

**So, this is the part where (hopefully) you decide that you do, in fact, love me and click the little button below this and submit a nice, lovely review. Because I love you like Ron loves watching the Beauxbaton girls walk. Actually, that's a bit creepy. But you get the idea. So go forth and click, por favor! Or s'il vous plait! Please and thank you!**


	10. Chapter 10

**Okay, I must say, I'm sorry this chapter took so long. There were complications with my beta, but it's here now! As always, J.K. Rowling is the creator of most of it. She's kind of my hero.  
**

Scorpius was being mauled. In all honesty, that wasn't the best description of what was happening, Severus decided, but it seemed like it at first. The little iridescent things were all forming a thick cloud around Scorpius. Of course, Severus groaned inwardly, poor little Scorpius is such an emo kid he's immediately popular with these things. Scorpius looked a little frightened, though, so Severus felt a little better.

"Professor Hagrid? Why are they doing that?" asked the blond in a soft voice. He looked at the little creatures perched on his robes apprehensively. "Could you get them off? They're starting to look menacing."

"They are actin' a bit dodgy. Just wait it out, tho'. I 'spect they'll leave yeh fer other students in a bit." Severus tried to hide a smile as his sort-of-friend fidgeted. But soon enough, the grelkies fluttered off to the other students, leaving Scorpius looking a bit ruffled. Severus expected a couple to land on him, but not a single one did. He frowned.

Certainly he was unhappy, or had been some time in his life. He did have an overwhelming feeling of being oppressed whenever he thought of his home and parents. Or did that just start when he realized he'd be a disappointment? Or was that even real, or just his sad effort at trying to pretend he didn't care about his family? This realization made him fall onto his bum out of shock. He wasn't really so surprised that he had tried to trick himself into not caring, only that it had worked.

One little grelkie came over and poked its nose at his hand. "Haven't you noticed? I'm not unhappy. Just pretending to be. Well, actually, I am a little sad about my parents, but it's not so bad. They probably aren't even too upset. I'm just being melodramatic. Go find a real emo kid." The creature flew off, leaving Severus feeling a little uneasy. He really needed to write to his parents. And stop being such an arse to Scorpius. The other boy actually had problems, and he was treating him like he didn't matter. That was not how his parents raised him. He determined that he would be nicer, or at least more sympathetic. After all, the other boy couldn't be that bad. He had been through a lot.

After Care of Magical Creatures on their way to lunch, Severus stopped Scorpius in the hall. He gestured for Eva and Rose to go on, but they didn't move. He shrugged mentally. "I'm sorry." He through his arms around Scorpius, entering a very one-sided hug. "I'm sorry I was such a Won-Won. (That's what my aunt Mione calls my uncle Ron whenever he's not thinking about other people's emotions.) And I haven't been very considerate. But I think we could be good friends." Severus said all of this through a fairly tight hug. Scorpius coughed meaningfully when it became unbearable.

"Uh, sure, I guess. Thanks? Can we go to lunch now? I'm hungry," Scorpius grunted. Severus released him. Severus realized that his for-the-first-time-actual friend seemed to have some issues with being touched. Severus purposely ignored this little detail, deciding that human contact could only be a good thing for someone who's been disowned by the people he thought loved him.

"Me too."

Eva rolled her eyes. "What the heck was that? Are you two suddenly best buddies now? Can we go already? It seems I chose the weird kids to be my friends. Great. Can't wait to write home about this."

"Oh, shut it. If you have problems with manly outbursts of affection, then you can go sit with my brother at meals. I guarantee you there will be no man-hugs with him."

"Relax, I was joking. I'm glad you two aren't trying to hurt each other."

Over time, the Gryffindors had cleared a too-large area for the four first-years to sit at the Gryffindor table so they didn't have to interact with them. Other than that, everyone settled into the routine of school fairly easily. Scorpius had quidditch practice with the Gryffindor team a couple times a week, and was currently the second-string seeker. Severus, much to Rose's dismay, continued to outshine everyone in their classes, except for History of Magic, which he had taken to skiving for extra time in the library to read books that were much too large. Eva pretended to be upset that Scorpius had replaced her as Severus' best friend even though she liked Rose better anyway, and knew that she would never be able to relate to Severus in the ways he might need a best friend to be able to.

Rose acted like a proper misfiled-child and swotted like nobody's business, putting many Ravenclaws to shame with long hours in the library, a pile ten-books-high next to her bed, and the commandeering of one of the desks in the Gryffindor common room for her own personal use. The four had also taken to piling on Severus' bed after dinner to work on coursework and chat. Well, Eva and Scorpius would chat while Rose did coursework and Severus tried to see how many of the spells he could use from the books he had read.

Soon enough, September became October, October grew into November, which saw the passing of Severus' birthday, which was wholly uneventful besides a few sweet-oriented gifts. By the time December rolled along, Severus had all but forgotten about any other home. When they were reminded a week before about the winter holidays, Scorpius reacted with anything but enthusiasm. He was glum for almost two whole days before Severus finally told him his parents had allowed him to invite a friend over for the holidays. Rose would have invited Eva to the annual Weasley-Potter holiday gathering as well, but she had to go to Ireland to spend time with her father's family over the break.

The train ride back to Platform 9 and 3/4 was awkward, to say the least. Severus knew that his parents would have a lot to say about the fact that he'd only sent one letter, the one asking if he could bring a friend. And he hadn't even specified which friend – not that that was an accident in the least. He knew that his father and uncle Ron would not be happy at all that he was bringing a Malfoy home for the holidays.

Scorpius himself was of course nervous about the prospect of meeting the Potters. His father may have been on the straight and narrow, but that didn't mean he liked his old school rival. Not in the slightest. In fact, for as long as he could remember, his father always ground out the Potter name, scowling whenever there was an article in The Daily Prophet about this daring escapade or that clever rescue. Not to mention the constant berating his father received from his more-than-half-mad grandfather on the subject of the Potters and Weasleys and the war. His grandmother never spoke of the past or the war, except for on one occasion, where he remembered she spoke on behalf of the Potters, then didn't say another word for almost a month.

Rose was a little worried about the whole thing. She had strongly advised Severus to tell his parents about their soon-to-be guest, knowing the Weasley trait for hot-headedness. That coupled with the family tradition of hating Malfoys would not end well, she thought. If only they would give Scorpius the chance to prove that he wasn't his dad or grandfather. He was much more Gryffindor than how she imagined his father, although that wasn't really the best way to describe him. She thought of him as something of a lost puppy, a bit confused and betrayed, capable of either becoming tame or biting anything within reach, it all depended on the circumstances. But, for the moment, she thought Severus would be a good presence to have around. Her cousin was odd sometimes, a little moody, even, but, when he felt comfortable with his surroundings, he was one of the sweetest people she knew.

Harry squeezed Ginny's hand cheerfully. They had both missed their youngest son terribly, considering that he only wrote once after they found out about the Sorting. They wanted to make sure that he was getting on all right, but he never responded to any of their letters. Ginny was especially worried, considering that Albus was her unofficial favorite. Harry attributed this to the fact that his second child was the most like himself, which was probably why he spent more time with James and Lily; he and his son had an understanding of each other that he did not have with his other two children. They didn't need to spend as much time together. When his second son was first born, he liked to think that Albus would be the boy he might have been, if given a happier, more magical upbringing. Sadly, as he grew up, he seemed to scare easily and was the most timid of his children. And now he was in Slytherin, which he really didn't care about, seeing as he was almost sorted into the house. Fate had certainly dealt him a very interesting hand, though.

Getting off the train, Severus tried to ignore the apprehension churning in his gut. He, Rose, and Scorpius said their farewells to Eva, and then tried to find their family. He didn't see his parents or sister yet, but he nudged Rose in front of him so he could walk with Scorpius. He knew that Rose could really only be so comforting, and there were times when someone just wants their best mate by their side. Severus grabbed hold of Scorpius' hand and pulled him through the crowd of waiting parents to find his own waiting parents. When he spotted them standing next to Rose's parents, he gave Scorpius' hand a light squeeze and dragged him over.

To say his parents were shocked would be a total understatement, in the least. At first, they were appalled, horrified, even, before they regained their composure. Severus threw a protective arm around Scorpius' shoulders. His father's feeble attempt at a welcoming smile was painful. His mother, however, was a little bit less harsh.

"I see there was a reason you didn't write who your friend was," Ginny Potter commented, almost jokingly. "Never thought you'd try to bring home a Malfoy."

"You can't send him back. You said I could have a friend. You never said who it could or couldn't be. He's my best friend and I want him with me for the holidays. His parents already made all their arrangements and everything, so there's no place for him to go if you try to send him back. And I won't let you, anyways." Severus said all of this with such conviction, even he was stunned at first.

Harry felt like something had fallen apart inside him. He had never known his son to be so... strong-willed. Less than four months had passed, and Harry felt like he didn't know his child. Or that his son didn't know him. To think that his own boy thought that he would send his best friend away, even if he was a Malfoy, was absurd. He promised him a friend. His son must have thought he didn't care at all, or didn't like him. That would change, Harry decided. He would show him that he was accepted, no matter who he was or who his friends were.

"Al, we're not going to send him away. Never." Harry turned to the clearly uncomfortable, pale blond boy. "Scorpius, it's nice to meet you. Sorry, it just gives me the creep how much you and your father look alike." He extended a large, calloused hand, which was met with a small, pale one.

"It's nice to meet you, too, Mr. Potter. I must say, it is a little disconcerting how much you look like Severus."

"You can call me Harry," Harry said automatically, then realized something. "Severus?" Harry locked eyes with his son, finding the green gaze strangely fierce. He said nothing more, and Severus did not explain himself. When James found them, he hugged his parents enthusiastically, shooting glares at Severus and Scorpius. Lily stepped from behind her mother and cocked her head at Scorpius.

"Are you a Death Eater? Cos Mum and Dad and Uncle Ron say all the Malfoys-" she was cut short by her mother's hand covering her mouth.

"Lily, what have I told you about thinking before speaking?" Ginny whispered fiercely, beaming a very fake smile at Scorpius. "Sorry about that."

At that moment, Ron and Hermione Weasley chose to walk up with Rose and Hugo. Ron took one look at Scorpius and shot a harsh glare at him. "Why is there a ferret here?" Hermione gave him a good elbow to the ribs.

"Ron! Mind your manners! He's not Draco. Besides, Rose speaks very highly of him." She smiled at Scorpius. "I'm happy to finally meet you. I hope the next couple weeks won't be to stressful for you, what with my husband and all."

"Wait. You _knew_? And didn't tell me? Rosie didn't either? What-" Ron was turning a violent shade of purple.

Harry coughed loudly. "Ron. That's enough. You can talk about that later. Now, you need to welcome our house guest."

Ron turned a mottled purple, but managed a grimacing smile. "Hello. I'm so pleased you're going to be staying with us." Ginny snorted at his expression and tried to cover it up with a cough. Rose stepped between her parents, holding Hugo's hand.

"Now that we've all met, could we go? I can't wait to unpack and Scorpius needs to get settled." After a bit of grumbling, all the Potters, Weasleys, and Scorpius made it out of the station and to the two portkeys that were waiting for them. The holiday was just beginning…

**Well, the next chapter shouldn't take too long. Oh, and please review. I'd like to know if people like it or not.**


	11. Chapter 11

**Yay! Fast update! Enjoy...**

Severus led Scorpius to his room at Number 12 Grimmauld Place. Each of the children of the Weasley and Potter families had their own room, except for James, who always shared with Teddy. Each room also had two beds. The large estate was only really used for holidays and gatherings of that sort, such as his grandparents' 50th anniversary. Events like that ended up lasting for three or four days when the Weasleys were involved. Because then, _everyone_ was invited.

Severus showed Scorpius their room and helped him unpack. Neither one of them had brought all of their school uniforms, just one for the train ride back, and they hadn't brought all of their clothes. The beds had space beneath them for their trunks.

After getting settled, Severus and Scorpius went downstairs to the living room. A little while after leaving school, all of the Potters and Weasleys renovated the place, which was almost falling apart. It took several weeks, and Kreacher protested loudly the entire time, but when they were all done, 12 Grimmauld Place was rendered cheery and familial. Of course, Kreacher threw a fit when they were through, but the paintings of the Black family were moved into the room with the Black Family Tree, which was left untouched. Kreacher tended to spend a lot of time in there.

In the kitchen, Severus' grandmother, mother, and aunt were at work making dinner, with half-hearted offers to help from their husbands. Severus and Scopius were sitting with Rose, Lily, Hugo, James, and all the other Weasleys who had arrived – Fred and Roxy; Dominique and Louis; and Lucy and Molly. Victoire was upstairs with Teddy, presumably engaging in some illicit snogging. All of the adults were in the dining room, talking boisterously. The children were quiet; most of them were staring at Scorpius.

"Who is he?" Lucy asked.

Severus sighed, "That's Scorpius Malfoy. And before you all start off on how the Malfoys are horrible and whatnot, he's really nice, okay? He isn't like the other Malfoys at all, and he's my best friend. So be nice. He's our guest." The room went uncomfortably silent again. The voices of the adults carried through the door.

"-and I'm not sure I want a Malfoy talking to my daughter!" Ron protested.

Hermione tried to calm him from the kitchen. "Ron! Rose said he's nice, and I trust her. We raised her well enough to be a good judge of character, I think. She's fine."

"Besides, Ron, he isn't even your child's 'best friend'. What if Al wants him to be the best man at his wedding? Or our grandchild's godfather? What then?" Ginny added.

"Oh, right, Ginny. You're the only one who would have to suffer. What if he marries Rose?! It could happen!" Ron yelled. At this, Scorpius, Severus, and Rose all started laughing almost uncontrollably. They knew well enough just how different the two were.

"You think you're the only one with a daughter? What about Lily? What if she ends up like me, falling for her brother's best friend? Then what?!" Ginny suggested vociferously. The children all heard a soft voice say something intelligible. "What?"

Charlie spoke again. "Maybe you're both wrong, did you think of that? Maybe you're all worked up for no reason? What if he doesn't like girls? It's possible." Severus kind of understood why his uncle Charlie said that. Teddy tried to explain it to him once, when he was much younger. Why Uncle Charlie had never married.

"Oh, great! What if he likes Al, then? That would be like Harry and Draco being together!" Ginny exclaimed, not very happy about the implications.

Scorpius snorted. "I like girls!" he yelled in the direction of the kitchen, much to everyone's amusement, definitely loud enough for the adults to hear. Then last thing they all heard was the silencing spell aimed at the door from inside the room. Severus and Scorpius laughed a little at the prospect of _them_. "As if I'd like a little tosser like you!" Scorpius pushed Severus playfully.

"And how would your parents ever have those babies with – what was it? – perfect cheekbones, noses, and jawlines?"

"Perfect everything, actually. Hair, eyes, and skin included. Ugh. Your children would probably inherit that black mop of yours. Distasteful."

"At least our looks aren't the result of inbreeding!" James laughed, earning a high-five from Fred. Scorpius glared, unsure of exactly what had been meant, but getting the insult all the same.

"At least Malfoys don't have freckles! Or that ghastly red hair!" In a second, Scorpius realized he had just insulted two very Weasley characteristics – in a room full of them. "Not that either of those are a bad thing…" Severus laughed at his best friend, who was receiving some very harsh glares from the surrounding Weasleys.

"Oh, give him a break, guys. He didn't mean it. Besides, he's just been raised that way, the same way we were raised to, at the least, thoroughly dislike him."

"At least my father and grandfather didn't say you were poor! Much…" Scorpius said, attempting to redeem himself. And failing.

"Scor, now would be the time to _shut it_. You are not helping yourself." Scorpius, wisely, obeyed.

Dinner was served a little while later. It was not mentioned that Scorpius had apparently overheard the adults' conversation. Nothing was mentioned at all, actually. It was a rather quiet supper until Molly broke the uncomfortable silence.

"Oh, for goodness sakes! Can't we at least pretend to have a conversation? It's not as if he's a Death Eater! Manners are still appropriate!" She stared at each of the adults with a challenging glare, then gave Scorpius a warm smile. "Love, would you like some more potatoes? How's school?"

Scorpius gave a practiced grin. "No thank you, ma'am. I have plenty. School's fine, considering."

"Considering what? That you're only richer than _most_ of the students, not all of them?" Ron muttered under his breath.

"Ronald Weasley! That's enough from you!_" _Ginny tried to hide a laugh. Ron gave his chicken and potatoes a sulky glare. "Considering what, love?"

"Just considering that I was mis-sorted. Things turned out better than I expected, though," Scorpius noted with a quick glance in Severus' direction.

"Yeah, actually, things went okay anyway, I guess. It's not so bad being in Slytherin," Severus agreed. At this, a couple of relatives who had not been informed of the semi-botched sorting gave him surprised looks, but kept their words to themselves. "Besides, we kind of have the best of both worlds, really."

"Yeah. It is kind of nice." Suddenly, the two realized that they were kind of having a conversation in front of people who really had no idea what they were talking about. "I'm in Gryffindor," Scorpius explained. Slight confusion turned to shock on the faces of the Weasley-Potter clan.

"Uh, what now?" Harry asked, eyebrows nearly meeting his hairline.

"Uh, I'm in Gryffindor? Yeah. Just ask James." Harry and Ginny turned to James sharply, who rolled his eyes.

"Yeah, okay, so Scorpius is in Gryffindor. So what? It's not like that changes anything. He's still a pr-I mean, poophead."

"It's really no big deal. Just some little mistake. Not really something to worry about." Scorpius was feeling a bit awkward about the whole mess.

"No big deal? Scorpius, your father must be furious! Merlin, he hated me and every other Gryffindor, and probably still does. I can't imagine how he must have reacted." Harry knew that the Malfoys were capable of a lot of…discomfort, and really felt bad for the boy. Scorpius didn't respond. He stared at his plate, lower lip between his teeth.

"So, uh, how about them Canons, eh? They destroyed the Bombers in that match last week." If Ron had not been afraid to speak, Severus' lame subject change would have worked; Ron and George would have begun a fiery debate about the pros and cons of each team's players, as well as their managers, that would have lasted well into the evening. However, this was not the case.

"Al? Scorpius? What happened?"

"Nothing, dad. Nothing at all." Severus knew that his friend was still more than a bit sore about the whole disowning business.

"Rose?"

"Harry, I think we should talk about something else," Ginny said quietly. Harry stared at the boy, so like his rival in appearance, but apparently, he had misjudged both of them. He had thought Draco would have mellowed out after marrying and having a child. And his son was hardly like the young Draco he remembered. It seemed he and Draco would be having a little chat soon…

After supper, which lasted several hours once chocolate cake and the subject of quidditch had been properly introduced, Severus and Scorpius went up to bed, stomachs full and tired. They crawled under their covers and did what most children do when they're tired but don't want to sleep - they talked.

"So, your family's nice. Really big, but nice."

"Yeah, once they finished the Spanish Inquisition. Sorry about that. I should have warned you, but I thought you wouldn't come if you knew."

"I would have come. And, thanks." Scorpius didn't say what for, but Severus knew.

"Hey, if we push our beds together, we can make a tent with our sheets and stuff. Wanna do it?"

"Yeah. Never made a tent before."

"What kind of child were you?"

"One who was 'disciplined', 'polite' and 'not at all boistrous'."

"So, basically, you never had a childhood."

"On the contrary, I had an excellent childhood. Of course, I had no friends, excluding, of course, Estella, who was technically a 'play mate'."

"Estella?"

"Yes, Estella Zambini, Professor Zambini's daughter. She's a year younger than both of us."

"Oh. Nice. So, a tent?" As silently as possible, the two boys pushed their beds together in the center of the room. Making sure his wand was on the bedside table, Severus crawled underneath his covers and gestured for Scorp to do the same. He instructed the other boy to go underneath and hold up the covers in the correct places. Repeating the process he had used for years, he concentrated on invisible stakes. He made a little motion to tell Scorp to move his hands. The covers stayed up, and, with a little concentration, Severus pushed at the covers until they formed a sort of bubble.

"This is pretty cool."

"Yeah, I used to do this all the time with Rose, Lily, Hugo and sometimes with Jamie. Once, we all made this huge one with three beds and all of us went in it. But it's really dark. Here." A second later, there was a little floating light inbetween them.

"Whoa. How'd you do that?"

"Y'know that spell we just learned, Lumos? Well, I think this is like that. I don't really know, though. It used to just happen sometimes, when it was dark and I couldn't see. And, I figure, if I don't use a wand or say anything, the Ministry can't tell if it was someone who hasn't learned magic yet. It _could_ have been Lily or Hugo or something."

"Cool. That's pretty smart."

"Hey, I'm not the smartest student in our grade for no reason!"

"Uh, no. That would be me." Severus playfully shoved him.

"Yeah right. The only reason you're passing History of Magic is because I'm right next to you, telling you what to do."

"Yeah? Well, no one likes a braggart."

"No one likes an albino snob."

"Good thing I'm neither."

"Are too!"

"Are not."

"Are too." They continued until they were both too tired to remember what they were arguing about.

The next two weeks went reasonably smoothly. After a couple of days, Scorpius was well integrated into the family. The only two who still resented him were Ron and James, but, to be honest, James hated almost everyone other people paid attention to, and Ron just hated the Malfoys. Harry, actually, took to Scorpius quite well, almost too well. He even invited him during the spring and summer holidays. Severus was a little suspicious. In fact, he was suspicious enough to call him on it.

"Dad, why are you being nice to Scor? I know you don't really like him, and, honestly, it would be better for everyone if you stopped pretending."

"Pretending? I'm not. I just…I guess I just want to give him a chance. I know how the Malfoys can get when their pride is hurt. If they won't accept him, we can at least give him a place to go."

"I don't believe you."

"Al, when did this happen? You and I used to get along well. Now it's as if I don't know you. You even call yourself by a different name."

"It's none of your business." They were quiet for a while. Harry seemed to be trying to figure out what to say.

"You're my son. That makes it my business. Why are you suddenly so defensive? I don't understand."

"Do you think I'm actually going to waste my time trying to please you? I'm never going to be the son you wanted, so forget it. I gave up on trying to make you proud of me the second I got Sorted." Severus bit his lip. The lump forming in his throat was not at all welcome.

"Is that why you call yourself 'Severus'? Some sort of adolescent rebellion? I don't see why you're making such a big deal about this whole Slytherin thing. I was almost a Slytherin, too. My father and his friends probably should have been as well, at least as teenagers. Even Malfoy was a Slytherin, and look how far he's gotten! He's head of the Department of International Magical Cooperation, for crying out loud! It's not a bad thing anymore. What House you're in hardly even means anything."

"You're lying. It means everything. It means I'm evil. That's what all of you think." He knew his voice sounded weak and strained. It was only a matter of time before the disappointment in himself turned into a flood of tears.

"No. Al, we love you. Sure, at first, it was a bit of a surprise, but we're okay with it now. It's not like the Weasleys and Potters don't both have a bit of Slytherin in them anyway. We do love you." An unwelcome, embarrassing tear slid down his face. He wanted to believe his father. Part of him knew that his parents loved him. Sometimes he just had trouble remembering.

"Fine. Whatever. I don't care."

"Can we keep calling you 'Al'?"

"Yeah, I guess. It was kind of stupid to go by 'Severus' anyway. But everyone calls me that now."

"That doesn't matter. As long as you're happy." The two stood there awkwardly. Harry felt conflicted. He wanted to show all of his children that they had supportive parents, but he wasn't sure how. He stared at his son and remembered what it was like to be his age, confused and scared, trying to figure out where he fit. He was about to hug him when Albus walked away.

**Oooh..._angst_. We all know Harry is the master of angst, something that had to be passed down to at least one of his children. Al/Sev just got the short straw on that one...**

**So, I promised myself I would never do this, but I must. I'm really not getting a lot of feedback on this story...hits but no reviews...so, until I get 10 reviews, no chapter 12. It's the only way I know of to know how I'm doing. And, really, the next chapter has Luna...who is awesome...so I would review if I was you.  
**


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